Kremlin Says President Putin Will Not Attend Shinzo Abe's Funeral, Russian Representative To Be Determined Later

Presiden Vladimir Putin. (Wikimedia Commons/The Presidential Press and Information Office)

JAKARTA - Russian President Vladimir Putin has no plans to visit Japan to attend the state funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.

"No, President Putin has no plans to visit Japan, to participate in the funeral. The level (of participation) will be determined later. Putin will not go," he said in response to a question from TASS, as quoted July 25.

Separately, at a regular press conference on Monday, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara said Tokyo had notified all countries with diplomatic ties, including Russia, of the date and place of the state funeral.

The Japanese government had previously approved a decision to hold a state funeral on September 27 for Abe, who was killed in the July 8 attack.

The ceremony, which is expected to be attended by a large number of foreign delegates, including heads of state, will be held at the Budokan Arena (Martial Arts Hall) in Tokyo, near the Imperial Palace.

Last week, the Mainichi newspaper reported, citing government sources, that Japan had no intention of inviting President Putin to Abe's funeral. This stresses partly due to the fact that Japan has barred Russian officials from entering the country as part of sanctions imposed due to the situation surrounding Ukraine.

The late Abe and President Putin were known to have had a warm and friendly relationship during his tenure. They met 27 times and greeted each other by first names.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in 2020, after Abe stepped down as prime minister, that relations between the two leaders were "absolutely friendly, mutually respectful and based on personal sympathy."