Relatives and friends of the murdered former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe paid tribute to him on Monday in Tokyo, where the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken He called it “visionary.”
Japan’s ruling coalition consolidated its majority in the Senate in Sunday’s elections, held two days after Abe was shot dead at an election rally.
The hearse with the remains of the former leader arrived at the Zojoji temple on Monday afternoon for the funeral that brought together authorities and businessmen.
Blinken, who was on an official trip to Asia, paid an unscheduled visit to Japan to express condolences from the United States.
The head of US diplomacy handed over to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida a letter from President Joe Biden addressed to Abe’s family.
“When one friend is suffering the other comes,” said the Secretary of State. And he added that Abe “did more than anyone else to take the relationship” between the two countries to new heights.
“We’re going to do everything we can to help our friends bear the burden of this loss,” he said, calling Abe “a man with a vision for the future and the ability to carry that vision forward.”
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who is in Tokyo for a meeting of G20 finance chiefs in Bali, also attended the funeral, as did Ambassador Rahm Emanuel, according to a Treasury official.
the moon sect
The accused of the assassination, Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, is in custody and told investigators that he attacked Abe because he believed the politician was linked to a religious organization.
The suspect’s mother is a member of the Unification Church, the organization, known as the sect, confirmed Monday. Moon.
Local media said that Yamagami’s family had suffered financial problems as a result of his mother’s donations to the group.
Yamagami wanted revenge on an “organization”, it transpired on Friday, before the name of the entity was known.
The suspect thought that the former prime minister had a link to this group.
“She has been attending our events once a month,” said Tomihiro Tanaka, president of the Unification Church in Japan, at a brief news conference called at short notice, declining to comment on donations from the Unification Church. suspect’s mother.
Tanaka said he was horrified by the “savage” murder and indicated that he will cooperate with the investigations.
It is speculated that Yamagami spent three years in the Japanese navy and watched videos on YouTube to learn how to make homemade weapons like the one used in the attack, sources close to the investigation told local media.
an election victory
In Sunday’s elections, which were held despite a national uproar over crime, Prime Minister Kishida affirmed the importance of showing that violence cannot defeat democracy.
The ruling party, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), to which Abe belonged, and its allies from the Komeito party revalidated their position and obtained a comfortable majority with more than 76 of the 125 seats in the Upper House, an increase of 10 legislators, according to national media.
Even before the crime, a victory was anticipated and with this advance, a path is opened for major reforms, such as an amendment to the Constitution, a reform that Abe wanted to implement to leave behind the pacifist character that defines Japan to recognize the armed forces.
The prime minister told reporters that the seats won represent an opportunity to “protect Japan” and cement Abe’s achievements.
Kishida, who took office in September, has vowed to combat the pandemic, inflation and issues stemming from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and there has been speculation that Abe’s killing could boost popular support.
