Japan commemorates one year since the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

July 8 marks the one-year anniversary of the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Memorial services are being held across the country.

Japanese people pay their respects before the portrait of the late Prime Minister Abe. Photo: Dao Thanh Tung/VNA reporter in Tokyo

A memorial service was held at Zojoji, a Buddhist temple in Tokyo, to remember Japan's longest-serving prime minister, who was shot dead at the age of 67 while giving a campaign speech. The memorial service was attended by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the wife of the late Prime Minister Abe, and many Japanese government officials and lawmakers. At the location near where Mr. Abe was shot dead in Nara, western Japan, dozens of people lined up in the morning to lay flowers in his memory. The sudden passing of former Prime Minister Abe has shocked and saddened the world because this talented leader was the one who brought many changes to the "Land of the Rising Sun" and was the initiator of many regional security initiatives. The late Prime Minister Abe was born on September 21, 1954 in the capital Tokyo into a family with a political tradition. After entering Japanese politics in 1993, he held many important positions in the government and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). In September 2006, he was elected President of the LDP and was elected by the National Diet as the 90th Prime Minister of Japan on September 26 of the same year. At that time, he was only 52 years old and the youngest Prime Minister in post-war Japan. However, in September 2007, he had to resign as Prime Minister due to health reasons.

In September 2012, Mr. Abe returned to the position of head of the LDP after the party's presidential election. Three months later, this politician led the LDP to an overwhelming victory in the House of Representatives election. On December 26, 2012, Mr. Abe was officially appointed Prime Minister after a vote in the National Assembly . In August 2020, he once again resigned as Prime Minister due to health reasons. The late Prime Minister Abe is the Prime Minister with the longest continuous term in office in Japan, surpassing the record of Prime Minister Eisaku Sato.

After leaving office, Mr. Abe remained active in politics. On November 11, 2021, this politician became the leader of Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyukai - the largest faction in the LDP. However, on July 8, he died after being shot in the back by a subject while campaigning for an LDP candidate in the city of Nara, western Japan.

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