After the service, a hearse carrying the former leader’s body traveled from the temple to the Kirigaya funeral hall for cremation, passing important buildings such as the Prime Minister’s office and the Parliament building. Large crowds lined the streets to catch a glimpse of the hearse. Many waved and raised their hands in the air as the vehicle passed, while others bowed their heads in respect. Aki Abe rode in the front seat of the hearse, bowing to the crowd as they paid their respects. He brought an ancestral tablet, a symbol of the transition to the afterlife. Millions around the world reacted with shock and dismay at how Abe was assassinated in broad daylight during a campaign speech in the central city of Nara on Friday. Police are investigating the shooting. The suspect, 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami, was arrested at the scene but has not been formally charged. The brutal nature of Abe’s death has left millions shivering across Japan, a country with one of the lowest rates of gun violence in the world. Abe was “Japan’s national figure,” Nancy Snow, a former Abe aide and Fulbright scholar in Japan, told CNN. “When I learned of his fatal injury and subsequent death, my heart sank,” she said. “For someone in international relations, even though I can be critical of some of his policies, you have to appreciate so much of what he did to put Japan back on the world stage.” Naomi Aoki, a supporter of Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party, waited outside the parliament building on Tuesday, hoping for a chance to say goodbye. “For me, he was the most respected politician in Japan. I want to say my last goodbye and I was off work today. He had a great impact on my life,” Aoki said. “I don’t think his death will be in vain. People all over the world will feel the impact of what he accomplished in his life.”
