The mortal remains of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, assassinated during an electoral act, arrived at his home in Tokyo this Saturday, one day after the event, surrounded by his widow, Akie, and national political figures.
The car carrying Abe’s body left shortly before 6:00 a.m. local time (9:00 p.m. GMT on Friday), with Akie as a passenger, from the hospital in the city of Nara (west of the country) to which he was transferred and after performing the autopsy and the pertinent procedures, according to details collected by the public chain NHK.
The former president’s widow had traveled to the western Japanese city after the attack that took place on Friday, in which Abe was shot in the back while giving a speech during the parliamentary by-election campaign this Sunday.
Abe was taken to hospital, where he died hours later due to blood loss, according to medical authorities.
The vehicle with his mortal remains arrived at his residence in the Tokyo district of Shibuya after 1:30 p.m. today (4:00 GMT), according to the media gathered in front of the house.
Members of his party and people close to him traveled there, such as the former Japanese Minister of the Interior and Communications and current president of the council on the policies of the Liberal Democratic Party (PLD), Sanae Takaichi; or the president of the faction that Abe was part of, Tatsuo Fukuda.
The current Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, also appeared at the family residence to convey his condolences for the death of his political mentor.
After the shooting, perpetrated with a homemade weapon by a 41-year-old unemployed ex-military man who was arrested at the scene, most political parties canceled their campaign activities, which resumed today, the day before the vote.
Kishida was this Saturday in the city of Fujiyoshida, in the center of the country, from where he delivered a speech wearing a mourning badge, in which he stressed his “responsibility to complete these elections freely, fairly and safely” and added: “I will never give in to violence.”
The event took place amid heavy security measures. Metal detectors were installed, the public gathered in a five-meter fenced area and security was reinforced behind the president’s back, something until now very unusual in the country.
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