The body of Japan’s former prime minister, Shinzo Abe, arrived in Tokyo Saturday afternoon — a day after he was assassinated while giving a campaign speech in the western Nara region, CNN reported.
Abe’s widow, Akie Abe, traveled with her husband’s body to the their home in the country’s capital, the outlet reported.
Their car arrived to throngs of people lining the streets near Abe’s home.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited the residence after the motorcade’s arrival, Kyodo reported.
The family is expected to begin planning funeral arrangements now that Abe’s body is back in Tokyo.
Abe, who was Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, was shot in the chest and neck during the stump speech — with a bullet piercing his heart, officials said.
His alleged killer, Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, used a homemade firearm in the attack and was taken into custody at the scene.
The ex-prime minister, 67, was rushed to the hospital where he was given more than 100 units of blood in transfusions but was ultimately unable to be saved. He was pronounced dead around five and a half hours after the shooting.
Back in Nara, people have made a makeshift vigil for their former leader, placing flowers at the scene of his murder.
The assassination sent shockwaves through the country, where shootings are extremely rare. Japan has one of the lowest rates of gun violence in the world.
With Post wires
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