Thousands honor Abe on the day of the funeral

1657606079 Thousands honor Abe on the day of the funeral

Published: Less than 30 minutes ago

full screenPeople queue to lay flowers and pray for Japan’s former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ahead of his funeral in Tokyo on Tuesday. Photo: Eugene Hoshiko / AP / TT

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was buried in Tokyo on Tuesday. Family and friends attend the ceremony, but outside the temple in Tokyo, thousands of others gather to mourn and condemn the murder.

Long queues of people, some of them dressed in black, have come to the Zojoji Temple in Tokyo to honor Abe.

– I can not get over the sadness, so I came here to lay flowers and pray, says Tsukasa Yokawa who is one of many who gathered.

– It is disgusting, says Yuko Takehisa, who believes that more should have been done to prevent the attack.

Local police have admitted mistakes in the security approach to protect Shinzo Abe. The former prime minister was shot dead when he gave a speech to a small crowd in the city of Nara on Friday, just a few days before the election to the upper house of the Japanese parliament on Sunday.

The murder suspect has been arrested and has stated that he “harbored resentment” against an organization that he thought Abe had connections to.

After the funeral on Tuesday, Abe’s remains will be driven past some of the capital’s political landmarks. Memorial services for the public are expected at a later date.

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