Japan mourns as body of slain ex-PM Abe arrives in Tokyo
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Journalists report groups of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling Liberal Democratic Party members walking into his mansion to pay their respects.
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Japan mourns as the body of slain ex-PM Abe arrives in Tokyo.
On Saturday, a hearse carrying the body of assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrived in Tokyo from the western Japanese city where he was shot at close range while campaigning.
The assassination of Japan's most well-known leader was a shock because of the country's low levels of violent crime and strict weapons laws.
AFP journalists witnessed the truck enter Abe's mansion in the capital, while prominent members of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party waited up to pay their respects, clad in black.
The suspect in Friday's shooting is in police custody, with police stating that he confessed to killing Abe because he suspected Abe was connected to an unidentified organization.
Police were looking into the 41-year-old's claims that he served in Japan's navy, saying he appeared to have used a homemade gun.
Abe was delivering a speech in Nara ahead of Sunday's upper house elections when he was shot, and campaigning resumed Saturday, with politicians vowing that democracy will triumph.
"We absolutely must not tolerate violence during an election to suppress speech," Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told around 600 supporters in central Japan's Yamanashi region, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper.
The Yomiuri and other Japanese media described a tense tone and heavy levels of security for Kishida's first campaign event since the assassination with a metal barrier set up to separate the leader from the throng.
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According to doctors, Abe had no vital signs when he arrived and died from significant blood loss despite huge transfusions. They detailed several cuts on the politician's neck, with internal damage extending as far as his heart.
Abe's murder shook Japan, with Kishida describing the killing as a "barbaric act" that was "unforgivable".
Kishida was obviously moved after the former leader's death was revealed, saying he was "lost for words," and is scheduled to pay his respects at Abe's Tokyo mansion on Saturday.
'Unacceptable act'
International reaction was similarly stark, with US President Joe Biden saying he was "stunned, outraged and deeply saddened," and ordering flags on US government buildings to fly at half-mast.
In honor of Abe, Australia declared that the Sydney Opera House would be lit up on Sunday.
Even regional powers with whom Abe had a falling out expressed their condolences. The death was described as an "unacceptable act" by South Korea's president, while the Chinese Embassy in Japan applauded Abe's "contribution to the improvement and growth" of relations.
