Current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who has a chance to consolidate his own power after Sunday’s election gains, and US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen were among the hundreds following Abe, three days after he was shot at a campaign rally. A private funeral for Abe, who stepped down in 2020 and was Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, is scheduled for Tuesday. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register “There is a deep sadness at his loss,” Yellen told reporters outside the shrine, where she laid incense in Abe’s honor and greeted his family. “Prime Minister Abe was a visionary leader and he strengthened Japan…I know his legacy will live on,” he added. Abe’s shooting shocked a nation where political violence and gun crime are rare. The suspected killer, who was arrested at the scene and identified by police as 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami, believed Abe had promoted a religious group to which his mother had made a “huge donation,” Kyodo news agency reported, citing investigators. . The Unification Church, a controversial group known for its mass weddings and devoted followers, said Monday that the suspect’s mother was one of its members. read more Neither Abe nor Yamagami were members of the church, said Tomihiro Tanaka, president of its branch in Japan, adding that he would cooperate with police if asked. read more Reuters could not immediately contact Yamagami’s mother and could not determine whether he belonged to other religious organizations.

HARD VICTORY

In elections held on Sunday, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its ruling coalition partner extended their majority in the upper house of parliament. With a majority already in place in the Lower House, what would have been a celebratory mood at LDP headquarters under normal circumstances turned somber. read more A minute’s silence for Abe was observed in his memory and Kishida’s face remained grim as he pinned rosettes next to the winners’ names on a board as a symbol of their victory. Officials and mourners attend a vigil for the late former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was shot while campaigning for a parliamentary election, at Zojoji Temple, in Tokyo, Japan July 11, 2022. REUTERS/Issei Kato read more Abe’s death has drawn condolences from leaders around the world, from Britain’s Queen Elizabeth to China’s Premier Xi Jinping. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Kishida during a brief stop on Monday to offer messages of support on behalf of President Joe Biden. Vice President William Lai became the highest-ranking Taiwanese official to visit Japan in five decades as he made a private trip to Tokyo to pay his respects. read more In the aftermath, a line of black sedans, including several with diplomatic plates, dropped off officials and their family at Tokyo’s Zojoji Temple, where the former prime minister’s body lies. Dressed in black, some of the congregants wiped their brows as they queued down the steps leading to the temple in the stifling evening air. A part of the temple was also open to the public who thronged to lay flowers. “I feel so sad that a prime minister dedicated to Japan died this way,” said Naoya Okamoto, a 28-year-old construction worker. “He was the prime minister who showed the world a strong Japan once again.”

PARTY INFLUENCE

Abe remained influential in the LDP party even after he resigned in 2020 citing ill health. The LDP and its junior partner Komeito won 76 of the 125 seats up for grabs in parliament, up from 69 previously. The LDP alone won 63 seats, out of 55, to win a majority of contested seats, although it did not have a simple majority on its own. With no elections scheduled for another three years, Kishida, an Abe protégé, now has an unusually long window to try to implement his own agenda. That includes expanding defense spending and revising Japan’s pacifist constitution — a longtime dream of Abe’s. read more Abe led the largest faction within the LDP, and analysts said his death could lead to potential turmoil within the party that could challenge Kishida’s control. Kishida told a news conference that he would deal with difficult problems that Abe has been unable to resolve, such as revising the constitution, adding that he hoped there would be discussions on the issue during the next parliament session. “We have gained strength from the voters for a stable government of this nation,” Kishida told a news conference. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama in Nara and Chang-ran Kim, Mariko Katsumura, Kiyoshi Takenaka and Andrea Shalal in Tokyo. Written by Elaine Lies, Simon Cameron-Moore and John Geddie. Editing by Kenneth Maxwell and Hugh Lawson Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.