Queen Elizabeth’s death: from Singapore to Japan, Asia pays tribute to ‘soul of the UK’

Leaders from Singapore’s Lee to New Zealand’s Ardern and Japan PM Kishida paid tribute to the monarch’s long reign

Elizabeth also witnessed countless leadership changes in the region during her 70 years on the throne

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Britain’s Queen Elizabeth died on Thursday at her summer residence in Scotland at age 96. File photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 1:34pm, 9 Sep 2022Updated: 4:09pm, 9 Sep 2022

Tributes flooded in from Asian leaders on Friday to Queen Elizabeth, who died aged 96 ending a reign which spanned seven decades of momentous change inside Britain, the decline of its empire and a recalibration of its place in the world through the Commonwealth.

Presidents and prime ministers from the region paid their respects soon after news of her passing broke early Friday morning, reflecting on the queen’s service to her country and the grace and stability she came to symbolise.

Over a reign which began in 1952, Elizabeth witnessed countless leadership changes in Asia, meeting leaders and heads of state ranging from Japan’s Emperor Hirohito and King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, to Singapore’s founding leader Lee Kuan Yew.

She was also head of the Commonwealth, a bloc of 56 states primarily made up of former British colonies including India, Malaysia and Singapore, where the prime minister’s office said flags will be flown at half-mast on the day of her funeral.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the queen would be remembered as “a stalwart of our times”.