Thousands of Japanese said goodbye on the streets to the assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

Thousands of people gathered on the streets of Tokyo on Tuesday to watch funeral procession of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was shot dead last week after a private funeral held in a Buddhist temple in the afternoon.

Although the funeral ceremony was for family and friends only, long queues have formed of people dressed in black in front of Zojoji temple to greet Japan’s longest-serving prime minister.

“I can’t bear the sadness, then I came to leave flowers and pray“said consultant Tsukasa Yokawa, 41, who called Abe” a great prime minister “.

Abe was killed on Friday during an election rally in the city of Nara, two days before the elections for the upper house of parliament, in which his party he secured a majority on Sunday.

Crime suspect, Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, arrested soon after the crime, told police he assaulted him because he believed Abe was linked to a religious organization which apparently harmed his family.

“It’s despicable,” said Yuko Takehisa, a nurse who also watched the procession go by.

“More could have been done to prevent it,” he said, observing it “no one denounced Yamagami” with the police despite the news he had tried a homemade weapon before the attack.

After the tribute, the procession with Abe’s remains moved to the emblematic places of the capital and symbols of power such as the prime minister’s residence, known as Kantei, and the seat of Parliament.

Outside the buildings, officials and senior officials stood with a grim facebowing out of respect.

Abe’s widow, Akie, sat in the front seat of the hearse with her husband’s gravestone bearing her posthumous name, according to the Buddhist tradition. Akie returned the bows during the courtship.

Along the way, lines of people prayed and photographed Abe’s last ride.

Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi, brother of abe, on Tuesday described the attack as a “terrorist act”. “I lost my brother and Japan has lost an irreplaceable leader,” she said on Twitter. “My brother loved Japan and was risking his life for politics and to protect this nation,” she added.

Satoshi Ninoyu, chairman of the National Commission of Public Security, the body in charge of the police, on Tuesday promised an in-depth analysis of possible security holes.

An attack in broad daylight

Local police have admitted problems in their security program for Abe, who was approached from behind and attacked in broad daylight.

In the suspect’s home, police found pellets and other possible components to make weapons like the one used in the attack, Japanese media reported, citing anonymous sources.

Yamagami has reportedly spent three years in the Japanese navy and allegedly told investigators that his mother had made a large donation to a religious organization, leaving the family with financial problems.

The Unification Church, a religious movement founded in the 1950s in Korea known as the “Moon Sect,” said on Monday that Yamagami’s mother was a member but he was not referring to the donations he would make.

Abe’s murder sparked surprise and outrage in Japan and around the world, as well as a wave of messages of condolence.

Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said Tuesday that more than 1,700 messages of condolence have been received from more than 259 countries, territories and international entities.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unscheduled visit to Tokyo to pay tribute to Abe, calling him “a man with a vision”.

Taiwanese vice president William Lai also made a private visit to Tokyo, harshly criticized by the Chinese government, which accused the island government of using the situation as “an opportunity for political manipulation”.

Abe came from a political family and became the youngest post-war prime minister when he first assumed power in 2006 at the age of 52.

He resigned in 2020 at the end of his second term, after suffering from health problems.

Their nationalist views created division, especially their will to reform the peaceful constitution of Japanand he also faced a number of scandals, including allegations of favoring his relatives.

Others praised him for his economic strategy based on an expansionary monetary policyfiscal stimuli and structural reforms, baptized by the media as “Abenomic”.

Many also noted his efforts to put Japan on the world stage, including the close relationship he has cultivated with former US President Donald Trump.

By Andrew Mckirdy and Atish Patel, AFP

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