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Kamala Harris, Vice President, was present at the state funeral of Shinzo Abe (assassinated former Prime Minster) on Tuesday. Tokyo was put under maximum securityDue to the high-profile procession.
The United States represented Harris at the ceremony attended by approximately 4,300 people. Additional foreign dignitaries attended Abe’s funeral, including Narendra Modi, the Indian Prime Minister, and Anthony Albanese (the Australian Prime Minister).
Harris sat alongside Rahm Emanuel who was the U.S. Ambassador to Japan and formerly served as Chicago’s Mayor.
Abe, one of Japan’s most polarizing leaders, was shot and killed while campaigning in the Nara, western Japan in July – the first assassination of a former Japanese Prime Minister since 1936.
JAPAN’S SHINZO O ABE IS SHOT AND KILLED – WORLD LEADERS PAY TRUBUTE TO AN ANCIENT PRIME MINISTER
Kamala Harris, vice president, attends Japan’s state funeral for Shinzo Abe on September 27, 2022 at the Nippon Budokan Tokyo.
(EUGENE HOSHIKO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
There were mixed reactions to his sudden death across the country. Kudanzaka Park was filled with hundreds of flowers, in memory of Abe. Trump’s former president praised him“A man who loved and treasured his beautiful country,” in his wake.
Protests were also planned the day before Abe’s funeral, despite Abe being the longest-serving prime minster in Japanese history.
Japan’s controversial topic of the funeral is itself. Fumio Kishida the current prime minister maintained that Abe deserved a large funeral and said that no one is obliged to honor Abe.
However, Kishida was criticized. The event is expensiveThe project is estimated to cost $11.5 Million. Many Japanese citizens protesting the government’s relationship with the Unification Church also voiced their disapproval at the church’s “brainwashing” of citizens.
TRUMP MOURNS SHINZO ABE, ‘A UNIFIER LIKE NO OTHER’ WHO ‘CHERISHED HIS MAGNIFICENT COUNTRY’
Kamala Harris, vice president, attends Japan’s state funeral for Shinzo Abe on September 27, 2022 at the Nippon Budokan Tokyo.
(FRANCK ROBICHON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Tetsuya Nagamii, the man charged with murdering Abe, told police that he was driven to kill Abe by his association with the Unification Church. His mother had donated large amounts of her family’s income to the church, which he was angry about.
Akie Abe, Abe’s wife, carried Abe’s ashes to the Nippon Budokan arena. For the procession, a cannon boom was heard several times and could be heard inside the arena.
Prime Minister Fumio eulogized Abe in Japanese. Others Japanese politicians then gave their speeches and faced Abe’s remains as they spoke. The projector screen showed Abe’s widow wiping away tears during the funeral.
As guests wait, the state funeral for former Japanese Prime Minster Shinzo Abe will begin at the Nippon Budokan Tokyo on Sept 27, 2022.
(PHILIP FONG/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
At the end, dignitaries from other countries walked up to the stage to put flowers in the ground, including Vice President Harris and members of the U.S. delegation.
VP Harris will visit the Demilitarized Area (DMZ), which separates the Koreas, on Thursday.
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This is just days after North Korea fired an anti-ship missile at the sea, and amid fears about a nuclear test. It also comes amid failures by the Biden administration to reach out directly to Kim Jong Un.
Harris’ visit will mark the first time that a senior Biden administration official has made it to Harris.
This report was compiled by the Associated Press.
