Long-standing politician and former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s funeral was held on July 12 at Zojoji temple in central Tokyo. The wake, held the previous night, was attended by around 2,500 people. Japanese and foreign dignitaries gathered to pay their final respects to Abe, who was killed in an attack on July 8 in Nara. He was 67.
Around the globe, world leaders have paid tribute to Japan’s longest-serving prime minister. The U.N. Security Council observed a moment of silence, and its current president, U.N. Ambassador Ronaldo Costa Filho, expressed the council’s “sadness and shock at the senseless assassination.”
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel noted he was “saddened and shocked by the shooting of former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo. Abe-san has been an outstanding leader of Japan and an unwavering ally of the United States.”