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Shinzo Abe funeral: Mourners line streets to bid farewell to Japan's longest-serving prime minister

Abe was Japan's longest-serving prime minister before he stepped down in 2020 due to health problems

By Lawrence Richard Fox News
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On Tuesday, Japan said farewell to Shinzo Abe, the country’s longest-serving Prime Minister, who was assassinated on last week.

Funeral processions for Abe, 67, started at Tokyo’s Zojoji Temple, where hundreds of mourners dressed in black gathered to pay their respects.

Following a funeral ceremony that included only family members and close friends, a hearse took Abe’s body through downtown Tokyo, the country’s capital.

Japan Shinzo Abe funeral

TOKYO, JAPAN - AUGUST 28: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks during a press conference at the prime minister official residence on August 28, 2020 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Franck Robichon - Pool/Getty Images) (Photo by Franck Robichon - Pool/Getty Images)

The procession passed near the federal parliament building, where Abe was first elected in 1993. He later served as the parliamentary leader, or prime minister, twice, including a lengthy service from 2012 to 2020.

TRUMP MOURNS JAPAN'S SHINZO ABE, 'A UNIFIER LIKE NO OTHER' WHO 'CHERISHED HIS MAGNIFICENT COUNTRY'

Abe’s death shook the world as he was a titanic political figure and gun violence in Japan is rare.  

  • Japan Shinzo Abe funeral
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    People wait in line to attend the funeral for former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Zojoji temple on July 12, 2022 in Tokyo, Japan. (Yuichi Yamazaki/Getty Images)

  • Japan Shinzo Abe funeral
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    People gather for the hearse carrying late former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe leaves Zojoji Temple in Tokyo on July 12, 2022. (PHILIP FONG/AFP via Getty Images)

  • Japan Shinzo Abe funeral
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    Police officers stand guard as people watch a motorcade carrying the body of the late former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was shot while campaigning for a parliamentary election, leaves after his funeral at Zojoji Temple in Tokyo, Japan July 12, 2022.  (REUTERS/Issei Kato)

After the death was announced on Friday, President Joe Biden said he was "stunned, outraged and deeply saddened."

"This is a tragedy for Japan and for all who knew him," Biden said.

JAPAN'S SHINZO ABE DEAD: BIDEN 'STUNNED, OUTRAGED' OVER ASSASSINATION

"He was a champion of the Alliance between our nations and the friendship between our people," the president added.

Japan Shinzo Abe funeral

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, officials and employees offer prayers towards a hearse carrying the body of late former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in Tokyo, Japan, July 12, 2022.  (Eugene Hoshiko/Pool via REUTERS)

Former President Donald Trump similarly said the death was "really bad news for the world."

"His killer was captured and will hopefully be dealt with swiftly and harshly," he wrote.

JAPAN'S SHINZO ABE SHOT AND KILLED: WORLD LEADERS PAY TRIBUTE TO FORMER PRIME MINISTER

  • Japan Shinzo Abe funeral
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    A car carrying the body of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe leaves Zojoji temple following his funeral on July 12, 2022 in Tokyo, Japan. (Yuichi Yamazaki/Getty Images)

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    A vehicle carrying the body of the late former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was shot while campaigning for a parliamentary election, leaves after his funeral at Zojoji Temple in Tokyo, Japan July 12, 2022.  (REUTERS/Issei Kato)

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    Guardmen salute towards the vehicle carrying the body of the late former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was shot while campaigning for a parliamentary election, in front of Japan's National Diet Building after the funeral in Tokyo, Japan July 12, 2022.  (REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon)

"Few people know what a great man and leader Shinzo Abe was, but history will teach them and be kind," Trump added. 

"He was a unifier like no other, but above all, he was a man who loved and cherished his magnificent country, Japan. Shinzo Abe will be greatly missed. There will never be another like him!"

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Abe was killed during a campaign rally Friday when Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, shot him in broad daylight with a homemade firearm, officials said.