The former Japanese PM was shot dead while on a campaign trail in the city of Nara on July 8.
Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani attended the state funeral of late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo on Tuesday.
The high-level event was held at Nippon Budokan Hall in the capital, bringing together a number of world leaders and top officials including Australian Prime Minister Antony Albanese, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Japan’s Crown Prince Akishino, and United States Vice President Kamala Harris.
Some 700 foreign dignitaries attended the event where 19 shots were fired to honour the late PM as his wife, Akie Abe, carried his ashes into the hall.
The former Japanese PM was shot dead while on a campaign trail in the city of Nara on July 8, just days ahead of an Upper House election.
A video that emerged online showed the 67-year-old delivering a speech while campaigning outdoors when two shots were fired. Abe, Japan’s longest serving PM, immediately collapsed while clutching his chest.
A mere seconds later, the video shows security pouncing on the culprit, later identified as Tetsuya Yamagami, who was tackled to the ground and arrested on the scene.
An image that surfaced online appeared to show blood on the chest of the PM, who had collapsed onto the street.
Abe was transferred to hospital by helicopter shortly after where doctors later pronounced him dead.
‘Friend of Qatar’
Sheikh Tamim condemned the killing of Abe shortly after the shocking incident made headlines.
The Qatari leader said he was “saddened by the news of the assassination of our friend Shinzo Abe,” describing him as a “a loyal friend of the State of Qatar and a supporter of the close relations between our two countries.
“As we strongly condemn this heinous crime, we express our deepest condolences to his family and the friendly Japanese people,” Sheikh Tamim said on Twitter.
The shooting shocked the entire nation, which has strict laws against owning firearms. The perpetrator, believed to be a former member of the Japanese military, used a “handmade” gun, according to reports and footage of the incident.
Abe served as Japan’s prime minister from September 2006 to September 2007, before returning to the position once more from December 2012 to September 2020.
