Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi attended the state funeral of former Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe at Tokyo's Nippon Budokan Hall today. He was seen accompanied by Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese at the funeral.
The event is being attended by more than 700 foreign guests, which include over 50 former or current state leaders from across the world.
Dignitaries like US Vice President Kamala Harris, Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong, South Korean PM Han Ducksoo, Indonesia Vice President Ma'ruf Amin, Philippines Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio, and European Council President Charles Michel have been seen attending the event.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida began the funeral by receiving the ashes, which appear to be kept in a ceremonial box. He then handed them to the military officers, who put the box at the centre of the altar, in the front of the room.
The Nippon Budokan Hall played videos of Shinzo Abe in his key moments to pay tribute to the leader. It also featured videos and pictures where Abe met with PM Narendra Modi, interacted with other world leaders, and addressed the United Nations.
Shinzo Abe is known for revitalizing the Trans-Pacific partnership after withdrawal from the US. He has been considered as one of the most significant forces behind the "Quad" partnership between India, USA, Australia and Japan.
The funeral will witness up to 1000 soldiers performing their ceremonial duties, a military honour guard who will fire 19 blank rounds to salute the former leader.
Shinzo Abe was Japan's longest serving Prime Minister who stepped down in 2020 because of health reasons. The 67-year old politician was gunned down at an election rally in Nara City, Japan.
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