(UPDATE) A HEARSE carrying the body of assassinated former prime minister Shinzo Abe arrived in Tokyo on Saturday after he was shot at close range on the campaign trail. "We must never allow violence to suppress speech during elections, which are the foundation of democracy," Prime Minister Fumio Kishida tweeted on Saturday after courting voters in central Japan's Yamanashi region. Abe's murder shook Japan, with a visibly emotional Kishida describing the killing on Friday as a "barbaric act" that was "unforgivable." On Friday night and Saturday morning, a steady stream of mourners came to lay flowers and pray for Abe, who had been Japan's longest-serving prime minister. "I am deeply saddened by the death of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Source: Manila Times July 10, 2022 11:21 UTC