Shinzo Abe: Japanese mourners pay last

respects to ex-PM at funeral

By Zubaidah Abdul Jalil and Rupert Wingfield-Hayes
BBC News, Singapore and Tokyo

Mourners pay their respects to former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe

Huge crowds have lined the streets of Tokyo to pay their last respects to ex-Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, who
was assassinated last week.
The 67-year-old was shot dead on Friday while speaking at a campaign event in the southern city of Nara.
On Tuesday, a hearse carried the body of the country's longest-serving prime minister through the capital to the
funeral hall where he was cremated.
A private funeral had been held earlier at the Zojoji temple.
The hearse travelled past the headquarters of Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) before making its way to the
prime minister's residence, where current PM Fumio Kishida and other lawmakers received the motorcade.
After that it passed the parliament building, where Abe first entered as a lawmaker in 1993, before arriving at the
Kirigaya Funeral Hall.
'Abe-San, thank you so much'
Shinzo Abe's funeral was supposed to be a private affair, closed to all but family and friends. But Japan's public
had decided otherwise.
From early on Tuesday morning, they began lining up outside the giant Zojoji temple in central Tokyo to lay
flowers at the small table set out to one side of the main complex.
By 14:30 local time (06:30 GMT) there were tens of thousands of people lining the streets all the way from the
Zojoji to the parliament building at Nagatacho.
Who was Shinzo Abe?
Abe was undoubtedly a divisive and controversial figure. His views on the history of World War Two were often
troubling.
 What did Shinzo Abe mean to Japan?
Abe was one of Japan's most influential politicians. And his death has sent shockwaves through a nation where
incidences of gun violence are extremely rare.
Police said the gunman targeted Abe due to grievances he had with a religious group that he believed Abe was a
part of. But they are still investigating what the gunman's motives were and whether he acted alone.
Akie Abe carrying her husband's tablet after the funeral
A vigil held on Monday evening drew hundreds of dignitaries as well as thousands of ordinary Japanese citizens
who came to lay flowers.
"I came here to offer flowers because I think he gave the Japanese something to be proud about," said Emi Osa.
Abe's death drew an outpouring of shock from prominent world leaders, with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson
condemning the shooting as a "despicable attack".