Mourners flocked to a temple in Tokyo to pay their respects to slain former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday as his assassination overshadowed an electoral victory for the ruling party that had dominated.
Incumbent Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who has a chance to cement his own power following Sunday’s election victories, and US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen were among the hundreds who attended Abe’s wake three days after being shot at an election rally.
A private funeral is scheduled for Tuesday for Abe, who resigned in 2020 and was Japan’s longest-serving prime minister.
“There is a deep sense of sadness at his loss,” Yellen told reporters outside the temple, where she placed incense in Abe’s honor and greeted his family.
“Prime Minister Abe was a visionary leader and made Japan stronger. And I know that his legacy will live on and result in a more prosperous Japan,” he added.
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Abe’s shooting shocked a nation where political violence and gun crime are rare.
The suspected killer, identified by police as Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, believed Abe had promoted a religious group to which his mother made a “large donation”, the Kyodo news agency said, citing investigative sources.
The Unification Church, a controversial group known for its mass weddings and devoted following, said Monday that the suspect’s mother was one of its members.
Neither Abe nor Yamagami were members of the church, said Tomihiro Tanaka, president of the Japanese branch of the church, officially called the Federation of Families for World Peace and Unification. Abe was also not an adviser to the church, Tanaka said, adding that he would cooperate with police if asked.
Reuters could not immediately contact Yamagami’s mother and could not determine if she belonged to any other religious organization.
In elections held on Sunday, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its ruling coalition partner expanded their majority in the upper house of parliament. With a majority already established in the lower house, what would have been a celebratory atmosphere at PLD headquarters under normal circumstances turned somber.
A moment of silence was held for Abe in his memory, and Kishida’s face remained grim as he placed rosettes next to the names of the winning candidates on a board as a symbol of his victory.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Kishida during a brief layover on Monday to offer his condolences on behalf of President Joe Biden.
“I shared with our Japanese colleagues the sense of loss, the sense of shock that we all feel, connected people feel, at this horrific tragedy,” Blinken said.
“But above all, I came at the request of the president because more than allies, we are friends. And when a friend is suffering, other friends appear.”
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Kishida, Yellen and US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel were among hundreds of officials and relatives on their way to Monday’s wake at Tokyo’s Zojoji Temple where the former prime minister’s body lay.
A line of black sedans, including several with diplomatic plates, dropped off mourners, some wiping their brows as they lined up under the steps leading to the temple in the sweltering heat.
A part of the temple was also open to the public who flocked to lay flowers. “It makes me very sad that a prime minister who dedicated himself to Japan died in this way,” said Naoya Okamoto, a 28-year-old construction worker.
“He was the prime minister who showed the world a strong Japan once again.”
Abe, who resigned as prime minister in 2020 citing ill health, remained influential in the LDP party.
The LDP and its junior partner Komeito won 76 of the 125 seats contested in the chamber, up from 69 previously. The PLD alone won 63 seats, against 55, to win the majority of the contested seats, although it did not reach a simple majority on its own.
With no elections scheduled for another three years, Kishida, an Abe protégé, now has an unusually long respite to try to implement his own agenda. That includes expanding defense spending and revising Japan’s dovish constitution, a longtime dream of Abe’s.
Abe led the largest faction within the LDP, and analysts said his death could spark possible turmoil within the party that could challenge Kishida’s control.
Kishida told a news conference that he would tackle difficult issues that Abe was unable to solve, such as revising the constitution, adding that he hoped there could be discussions on the issue during the next session of parliament.
“We got strength from the voters for a stable government of this nation,” Kishida told a news conference.