About 6,000 people, including several hundred members of foreign delegations, will attend the state funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was killed in the July 8 attack. On Thursday, August 18, the newspaper reports Nikkei Asia.
French President Emmanuel Macron, US Vice President Kamala Harris, former US President Barack Obama, South Korean Prime Minister Han Deok-soo, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach are expected to arrive in Tokyo.
At the same time, the exact list of guests will be compiled by the beginning of September.
According to the publication, former US President Donald Trump also expressed a desire to attend the funeral, but Tokyo sent invitations to states, not specific individuals, so current American leader Joe Biden must approve his participation as a US representative.
It is specified that the Japanese Foreign Ministry notified about 200 countries and regions about Abe’s state funeral.
Earlier, on July 20, it was reported that the state funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be held on September 27 at the Nippon Budokan (Martial Arts Hall) sports arena in Tokyo.
Before that, on July 12, a farewell to Abe took place. Thousands of Japanese gathered to see off the former head of government. At the same time, private funerals were held for family members and close friends, in which Kishida also participated.
On the eve it became known that Abe will be posthumously awarded the most honorary state award of Japan – the Order of the Chrysanthemum with a chain. The corresponding decision was made at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers of the country. The highest order of the Chrysanthemum with a chain is awarded in Japan extremely rarely. Within the country, only 14 people were awarded it.
The assassination attempt on Abe took place on July 8, when he was making a speech in the city of Nara as part of an election campaign ahead of elections to the upper house of parliament. The 67-year-old politician was hospitalized, but died a few hours later at the Nara Medical University Hospital.
The perpetrator was arrested on the spot. During the arrest, he offered no resistance. The detainee explained his act by the fact that he suspected the politician, allegedly in connection with a certain religious structure, because of which his family became impoverished.
On July 9, Tomoaki Onizuka, head of the Nara Prefectural Police Headquarters, acknowledged that the security of the former Japanese prime minister had not been adequately secured.
Abe served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2006-2007 and 2012-2020. He set a record for the longest tenure in this position.
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