Shinzo Abe to have private funeral, with separate ceremony for friends of Japan that may include Trump
- The government has confirmed Abe’s funeral will be for family and close friends only
- A second ceremony will take place on Tuesday for Abe’s political colleagues and contacts from the worlds of business and diplomacy
Accompanied by his wife, Akie, Abe’s body returned to the family home in Tokyo on Saturday afternoon, where the cortege was met by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and senior members of his government.
A wake for the 67-year-old former leader was held on Monday, with Akie Abe serving as chief mourner. The funeral was scheduled to be held later in the day at Tokyo’s Zojo-ji Temple, the main centre of worship for the Jodo-shu Chinzei sect Buddhism in the Kanto region of eastern Japan, followed by a cremation service.
The government has confirmed that the funeral will be for family and close friends only, although an area has been set aside at the temple for members of the public to light incense sticks, lay flowers and pay their respects. A second ceremony is due to take place on Tuesday for Abe’s political colleagues and contacts from the worlds of business and diplomacy.
Abe represented a political constituency in the city of Shimonoseki, in Yamaguchi Prefecture in southern Japan, with local representatives of the Liberal Democratic Party also holding a memorial event. A larger formal occasion will be held at a later date to commemorate the late prime minister, they said.
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Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s death shocks Japan and world
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