Former president Donald Trump spoke to Shinzo Abe’s family about attending his funeral following his assassination. There has been no official confirmation from Trump’s office.
Trump and Abe shared a close relationship with the latter gifting a golden Honma golf driver to Trump followed by an invitation to Trump’s residence in Mar-a-Lago.
Trump also followed up with a state visit to Tokyo in May 2019 and his attendance at the G20 summit in Osaka in June 2019.
“We’re going to see how it goes. We’re talking to their family. We love the family. His wife is a phenomenal woman. He is so loved in Japan, I can imagine that is going to be an incredible celebration of life. He was just very special. Every aspect of that man was just very special,” Trump was quoted as saying by Breitbart news.
He also recalled his visits to Tokyo and said that he and Abe had a special relationship. He said Abe’s death was bad news for the entire planet.
Abe was assassinated by Tetsuyo Yamagami on July 8 when he was addressing a campaign rally for the Upper House elections in Japan at the Yamato-Saidaiji Station in Nara City.
Yamagami said he did not oppose the politics of Shinzo Abe but was angered that the longest-serving prime minister supported a religious group which allegedly defrauded his mother.
“I was dissatisfied with former Prime Minister Abe and aimed to kill him. It is not a grudge against the former Prime Minister’s political beliefs,” Tetsuya said.
He used readily accessible material to build a crude shotgun and fired two shots at Abe who was delivering a speech. Yamagami did not make any attempt to flee and remains in police custody. Police are probing the case but weapons experts believe he trained himself using DIY videos.
Meanwhile, US Secretary Of State Antony Blinken handed Kishida letters from US President Joe Biden for Abe’s family as he traveled to Tokyo to show solidarity with Japanese people.
“Thank you, Prime Minister Kishida, for the opportunity to visit and pay my respects to mourn with you and your nation, a great statesman. We are deeply saddened over the killing of one of our dearest friends. The US-Japan Alliance will always remain strong,” Blinken said.
(with inputs from Breitbart)
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