World leaders past and present expressed their shock and sadness at the death of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated on Friday while attending a political rally.

News of the shooting of Japan’s longest serving leader has reverberated around the globe and cast a spotlight on political violence and gun culture in the country and elsewhere.

European Union leader Ursula von der Leyen called the attack a “brutal and cowardly murder,” adding that a “wonderful person, great democrat and champion of the multilateral world order has passed away.”

Who is Shinzo Abe, the former Japanese leader wounded in a gun attack?

In Asia, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Abe a “dear friend” and said his country would observe a national day of mourning on Saturday, “as a mark of our deepest respect.”

Wary of an assertive China, Abe developed close ties between Japan, Asia’s richest democracy, and India, the region’s most populous. He was a particularly vocal proponent of the Quad, an informal gathering of Japan, India, Australia and the United States that is a counterweight to Beijing.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol sent a letter of condolence to Abe’s wife, Akie, in which he called the shooting an “unacceptable crime.” Seoul has historically had a tense relationship with Tokyo, which colonized Korea, but Yoon has sought to develop closer ties with his neighbor since taking office earlier this year.

Outgoing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted that it was “incredibly sad news” and said that Abe’s “global leadership through unchartered times will be remembered by many.”

“We stand closely by Japan’s side in these difficult hours,” said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, adding that the assassination left him “shocked and deeply saddened.”

“Deeply saddened by the heinous killing of Shinzo Abe, a defender of democracy and my friend & colleague over many years,” tweeted NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

The top Philippine diplomat, Enrique Manalo, remembered Abe for “establishing a very deep bond of friendship with our country.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking on the sidelines of a Group of 20 foreign ministers meeting in Indonesia, called the assassination of Abe “shocking.”

“It’s profoundly disturbing in and of itself, it’s also such a strong personal loss for so many people. To the United States, Prime Minister Abe was an extraordinary partner and someone who was clearly a great leader.”

The news broke overnight in the United States but former president Donald Trump, who developed a close friendship with Abe while in office, put out a message on his social media platform ahead of the death.

He hailed Abe as a “truly great man and leader” and called him “a true friend of mine and, much more importantly, America.”

Russia, which has had strained relations with Japan since Tokyo imposed sanctions in response to the Ukraine invasion, also sent its sympathies.

The Kremlin “strongly condemned” the killing, said Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov. “Abe was a patriot who defended Tokyo’s interests at the negotiation table. Thanks to that, he had good relations with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin.”

Shinzo Abe, former Japanese leader, is assassinated by gunman

The Ukraine war has also exacerbated a long-running territorial dispute over a group of islands near Japan seized by the Soviet Union in 1945. Russia withdrew from talks to resolve the issue in March and conducted military drills on what it calls the Kuril Islands and what Japan regards as its Northern Territories. Abe tried to resolve the dispute as prime minister, but failed to convince the Kremlin to shift its position.

Australia, Sweden, France and other nations also condemned the assassination.

Abe, who came from a high-profile Japanese political family and resigned as prime minister in 2020 due to ill health, was shot at a campaign event Friday, Japanese officials said. Japan has among the world’s strictest firearms laws and gun violence is rare.

The 67-year-old had been giving a speech in Nara, near Osaka, ahead of elections for Japan’s upper house of parliament on Sunday. Videos showed a chaotic scene with Abe, unmoving, lying on the ground as attendees yelled for an ambulance.

Police have arrested a suspect, a man from Nara in his 40s named Tetsuya Yamagami, and seized a gun. The weapon appeared to be homemade, police sources told local media. Yamagami was a member of the Japan Maritime Self Defense Forces for three years, defense officials told Japanese media.

John Hudson in Nusa Dua, Indonesia, Grace Moon, Katerina Ang and Min Joo Kim in Seoul, Regine Cabato in Manila, Robyn Dixon in Riga, Latvia, and Eva Dou contributed to this report.





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