Japanese PM And A Lot Of People Lined Up To Release Abe To His Resting Place, China Protested The Presence Of Taiwan's Vice President

The scene outside Zojoji Temple where Shinzo Abe's funeral was held. (YouTube/Zabby screenshot)

JAKARTA - With prayers, flowers and flags draped in black ribbons, Japan on Tuesday said goodbye to Shinzo Abe, the country's longest-serving prime minister, after being shot dead last week while campaigning in Nara City.

Crowds thronged the police-lined pavement as the hearse carrying the body of Abe, who died at the age of 67, departed Tokyo's central shrine in a procession across the city.

With nearly a dozen helicopters circling overhead, people bowed deeply, their hands clasped in prayer, as the hearse passed in a procession broadcast live by broadcaster NHK. Others clapped, cheered or waved.

"Thank you so much for your work for our country," one man shouted over and over again.

Hundreds of people had entered the shrine where Abe's funeral was held Monday evening and Tuesday morning, before a private ceremony, to pay their respects.

The funeral procession passed through the political heartland of the capital Nagatacho, where hundreds of people marched in front of the parliament building Abe first entered as a young lawmaker in 1993, after the death of his political father.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and a group of cabinet ministers waited quietly in front of the office where Abe, Japan's youngest prime minister when he first took office, led the country for two terms, the longest from 2012 to 2020, when he stepped down due to health concerns.

As the hearse slowly passed, Kishida lowered his head, a set of Buddhist rosary beads around his clasped hands. meanwhile, Abe's wife, Akie, leaned back from the front seat of the hearse.

Since early morning, long lines of people dressed in black, mixed with others in informal attire with backpacks, formed outside the temple in the stifling summer air.

Keiko Noumi, a 58-year-old teacher, was one of many who came to pray and give flowers to a large photo of Abe posted inside the shrine grounds showing him wearing a simple white shirt, laughing with his hands on his hips.

"There is a sense of security when he becomes prime minister in charge of the country. I really support him, so this is very unfortunate," he said.

Others queued in front of the headquarters of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to make offerings at the makeshift shrine which will stand until Friday. The party staff came out to offer cold barley tea to mourners sweating in the stifling air.

Tributes have been pouring in from international leaders, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken making a brief stop en route to the United States from Southeast Asia on Monday morning to pay his respects. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Taiwanese Vice President William Lai, on a private visit as family friends, also joined the mourners.

Nearly 2.000 messages of condolence came from countries around the world, Kyodo news agency said.

Separately, China's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday its embassy in Japan had made a "firm statement" to Tokyo regarding the presence of Taiwanese Vice President William Lai at the funeral of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.

Lai visited Japan in what a Japanese official described as a personal visit to pay respects as a friend of Abe, a move that is always likely to anger Beijing which regards democratically-ruled Taiwan as its own territory with no rights to state traps. Read more

Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin, speaking at a regular press conference in Beijing, said Taiwan is part of China and "does not have a so-called vice president".

"After the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Abe, the Taiwanese authorities used the opportunity to engage in political manipulation. There is no way a plan like this will work," Wang criticized.