Japan honours assassinated Abe at controversial funeral

Japanese and foreign dignitaries paid tribute to assassinated former prime minister Shinzo Abe at a controversial state funeral on Tuesday, as long lines of people gathered to offer flowers and prayers.

Abe’s ashes, carried by his widow Akie, arrived at the storied Budokan venue in Tokyo, where a 19-gun salute sounded in honour of the slain former leader. The motorcade carrying his remains had travelled from his widow’s home in the capital, past a row of white-uniformed armed troops who stood to attention.

Outside the Budokan, thousands of Japanese people stood in line as the ashes arrived, waiting to deliver flowers and say a prayer in two mourning tents.

Toru Sato, 71, leaned on his cane as he waited. “I only know Abe-san on TV. He worked so hard. His death was so tragic. I felt so sorry for him,” he told AFP.

Koji Takamori came all the way from northern Hokkaido with his nine-year-old son. “I wanted to thank him. He has done so much for Japan,” the 46-year-old said.

“The way he died was so shocking. To be honest, I also came because there has been so much opposition. It’s almost like I’m here to oppose those who are opposing this (funeral),” he added.
Those opponents were also out, albeit in much smaller numbers, marching near the tents before an expected demonstration in front of the parliament.

Abe was Japan’s longest-serving prime minister and one of the country’s most recognisable political figures, known for cultivating international alliances and his “Abenomics” economic strategy.
The shooting sent shock waves through a country with famously low gun crime and prompted international condemnation.

But the decision to give him a state funeral — only the second for a former premier in the post-war period — has provoked opposition, with around 60 percent of Japanese against the event in recent polls.

Abe’s accused killer targeted the former leader believing he had ties to the Unification Church, which he resented over massive donations his mother had made to the sect.

The assassination prompted fresh scrutiny of the church and its fundraising, and uncomfortable questions for Japan’s political establishment, with the ruling party admitting around half its lawmakers had links to the religious organisation.

Source: eNCA

In other news – Lootlove Luthando shows off her beautiful daughters

Lootlove Luthando flaunts her daughters who will be turning 4 years old soon. The On-Air-Personality got followers excited on Instagram with the photo of the twins, as she’s known to be very secretive about them and her personal life.

As seen in the photos, the girls are grown and twined with everything rocked in the photo. Learn more