Japan holds Shinzo Abe’s funeral

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27 min ago

In photos: Crowds mourn Shinzo Abe outside Zojoji Temple

(Shiho Fukada for CNN)
(Shiho Fukada for CNN)

Crowds of mourners have gathered in Tokyo today, lining the streets around Zojoji Temple where the funeral service of late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is taking place.

The funeral is private, limited only to the former leader’s family, close ones, and foreign dignitaries — but members of the public poured into the area to pay their respects.

(Shiho Fukada for CNN)
(Shiho Fukada for CNN)

Photos from the scene show mourners crying, hands clutching flowers, notes, and other offerings to place at the memorial outside the temple.

Abe was a controversial but popular figure, having served two terms in office from 2006 to 2007 and 2012 to 2020.

(Shiho Fukada for CNN)
(Shiho Fukada for CNN)

The temple is a centuries-old structure with historic and cultural significance, housing the tombs of Japan’s military rulers from the Edo period.

A private wake for Abe was also held at the temple on Monday night, attended by his widow, Akie Abe, other relatives and guests.

(Shiho Fukada for CNN)
(Shiho Fukada for CNN)

After the funeral service, the hearse carrying Abe’s body will be taken from the temple to the Kirigaya Funeral Hall for cremation.

On the way, the hearse will pass by significant sites including the Prime Minister’s office, the Parliament building and Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party headquarters. At the Prime Minister’s office compound, office staff will stand outside to see him off.

(Shiho Fukada for CNN)
(Shiho Fukada for CNN)
33 min ago

Shinzo Abe will be remembered for his grand “Abenomics” experiment, professor says

Seijiro Takeshita, Professor, Management and Information, University of Shizuoka.
Seijiro Takeshita, Professor, Management and Information, University of Shizuoka. (CNN)

Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe “did so much,” which is why he was the country’s longest-serving leader, a professor from the University of Shizuoka said Tuesday.

Abe came to office at a time when Japan was “suffering a strong Yen” and “exporters were struggling,” said Seijiro Takeshita, professor of management and information. He set about rebooting the economy, by launching a grand experiment popularly known as “Abenomics,” Takeshita said.

“Certainly, he has made a very positive progress, including trying to get more women into the workplace,” Takeshita said.

“He did so much, otherwise he wouldn’t be the longest reigning prime minister in our history.”

What was Abenomics?: Abe’s eponymous economic strategy included three so-called arrows — massive monetary stimulus, increased government spending, and structural reforms.

Abe’s allies praised the policy for reviving Japan’s economy and boosting consumer and investor confidence. But after a strong start, it faltered and in 2015 Abe fired “three new arrows” designed to boost gross domestic product. Any hopes they might eventually hit their mark were dashed when Covid-19 swept through the country in 2020, tipping Japan into recession.

1 hr 12 min ago

Shinzo Abe will be remembered for his “breadth of vision,” author says

Tobias Harris, senior fellow for Asia at the Center for American Progress and author of
Tobias Harris, senior fellow for Asia at the Center for American Progress and author of “The Iconoclast: Shinzo Abe and the New Japan.” (CNN)

The most striking thing about former Japanese leader Shinzo Abe was the “breadth of his vision,” the author of a book about the country’s longest-serving prime minister said Tuesday.

Abe’s “willingness, determination to think … beyond the current generation,” made him a unique leader, said Tobias Harris, author of “The Iconoclast: Shinzo Abe and the New Japan.”

Abe was a prominent figure on the world stage. He cultivated strong ties with the United States — Japan’s major post World War II ally — and attempted to build a personal relationship with former US President Donald Trump, traveling to New York to meet the then-newly elected Republican President while former President Barack Obama was still in office.

“The US and Japan have been allies for a very long time but what you saw under Abe was almost taking the bilateral relationship to another level,” said Harris, a senior fellow for Asia at the Center for American Progress.

“There was a recognition that Japan had no alternative but to find a way to ensure the US was committed to Japan’s security, but also to the security and prosperity of the region.”

1 hr 21 min ago

Hundreds queue to leave flowers in Nara near site where Shinzo Abe was assassinated

Hundreds of people braved the rains on Tuesday to leave flowers and notes of condolences in Nara, Japan, near the site where former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated.

In an outpouring of grief, people have formed long queues on the streets in the central Japanese city to pay their respects to Abe, according to CNN staff on the ground. Some wiped away tears as they commemorated the former leader.

Abe was gunned down in broad daylight during a campaign speech on Friday. Japan, a country with one of the lowest rates of gun violence, is reeling from the shock killing, which has reverberated around the world.

Abe’s funeral is being held at Tokyo’s Zojoji Temple by Abe’s widow, Akie Abe, with attendance limited to family members and people who were close to the former prime minister, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK reported.

1 hr 20 min ago

Shinzo Abe’s funeral is underway, with mourners lining the streets outside Zojoji Temple

People stream to the Zojoji Temple for Shinzo Abe's funeral on Tuesday.
People stream to the Zojoji Temple for Shinzo Abe’s funeral on Tuesday. (Issei Kato/Reuters)

The funeral service for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is now underway, four days after his assassination last Friday.

The private ceremony, taking place at the Zojoji Temple in Tokyo, is open only to family members, foreign dignitaries and people close to the former leader.

But people from all walks of life have flocked to the streets surrounding the temple to pay their respects, with mourners bringing flowers, notes and other offerings.

People CNN spoke with said they had been shocked by Abe’s daylight shooting on Friday.

The killing was particularly shocking given Japan has one of the world’s lowest rates of gun crime, and is widely regarded as one of the safest countries.

Abe’s legacy: Abe was a hugely popular but controversial figure throughout his two terms in office, from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020. Some of his most significant actions included boosting defense spending and pushing through a dramatic shift in Japanese military policy, allowing the country’s armed forces to engage in overseas combat — with conditions — for the first time since World War II.

1 hr 38 min ago

Abe’s funeral is being held at a centuries old temple housing the tombs of ancient military rulers

People gather to offer prayers at Zojoji Temple on Monday, July 11, in Tokyo where former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s body was taken for a wake on Monday evening.
People gather to offer prayers at Zojoji Temple on Monday, July 11, in Tokyo where former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s body was taken for a wake on Monday evening. (Mihoko Owada/Sipa USA)

Shinzo Abe’s funeral service takes place today at the Zojoji Temple in Tokyo — a historic landmark founded in the Kanto region more than 600 years ago and relocated to the capital, standing at its present site since 1598, according to the temple’s official website.

The Buddhist temple, located near Tokyo Tower, once functioned as the family temple of the Tokugawa Shogunate during the Edo period — the military government that unified the country and ruled Japan for more than 200 years.

It’s a culturally and historically significant site that houses the tombs of six of the Tokugawa shogun, or military rulers, and their wives and children.

The funeral on Tuesday will be hosted by Shinzo Abe’s widow, Akie Abe, with attendance limited to family members and people who were close to the former prime minister, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK reported.

After the service, the hearse carrying Abe’s body will travel from the temple to the Kirigaya Funeral Hall for cremation, passing by a number of significant buildings including the Prime Minister’s office and the Parliament building, according to CNN affiliate TV Asahi. 

1 hr 42 min ago

Shinzo Abe was the “face of Japan,” international relations expert says

Former Japanese leader Shinzo Abe was “the nation brand face of Japan,” an international relations expert said Tuesday.

Abe’s funeral takes place today in Tokyo, following his assassination last Friday in the city of Nara.

“I cannot imagine a Japan without him,” Nancy Snow, a former Abe Fellow and Fulbright Scholar in Japan, told CNN.

“When I found out about his mortal injury and subsequent demise, my heart sank,” she said. “For someone in international relations, even though I can be critical of some of his policies, you have to appreciate so much of what he did to put Japan back up on the world stage.”

Abe served two separate terms as Japanese leader for the right-leaning Liberal Democratic Party — the first from 2006 to 2007, then again from 2012 until 2020. His second stint was the longest consecutive term for a Japanese head of government.

He will be remembered for boosting defense spending and pushing through the most dramatic shift in Japanese military policy in 70 years.

“He’s not going to get his years to write more books … to go over his legacy,” Snow said.

1 hr 48 min ago

Cars arrive for funeral of former Japanese leader Shinzo Abe

Cars carrying guests are arriving at Tokyo’s Zojoji Temple for the funeral of the late former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Attendance at the funeral is limited to family members and people who were close to the former leader, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK reported. It is being hosted by Abe’s widow, Akie Abe.

Outside the temple, people of all ages and all walks of life have gathered to pay their respects to Abe. Many have brought flowers, notes and green tea — symbols of help in the after life — in an outpouring of grief.

After the service, the hearse carrying Abe’s body will travel from the temple to the Kirigaya Funeral Hall for cremation, passing by a number of significant buildings including the Prime Minister’s office and the Parliament building, according to CNN affiliate TV Asahi. 

1 hr 14 min ago

Streets of Tokyo are somber for Abe’s funeral

People line up to offer flowers and prayers for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, at Zojoji Temple prior to his funeral Tuesday, July 12, in Tokyo.
People line up to offer flowers and prayers for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, at Zojoji Temple prior to his funeral Tuesday, July 12, in Tokyo. (Eugene Hoshiko/AP)

Mourners are lining the streets outside Tokyo’s Zojoji Temple for the funeral of late former Japanese leader Shinzo Abe, four days after he was brutally gunned down in broad daylight.

In an outpouring of grief, people of all ages and all walks of life have arrived to pay their respects to Abe, as Japan reels from the shock of his assassination.

The mood outside the temple is somber, as well wishers bring flowers, notes and green tea— symbols of help in the after life — to pay their respects to Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister.

After the funeral, Abe’s body will be carried by hearse through the streets of Tokyo, passing by the former leader’s Liberal Democratic Party headquarters, the Prime Minister’s Office, and the Parliament building, before arriving at the Kirigaya Funeral Hall for cremation, according to CNN affiliate TV Asahi.

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