Shinzo Abe’s official funeral will take place on September 27, according to the Japanese government, local media reported on Friday.
According to the Kyodo news agency, the event will take place in the Nippon Budokan venue in Tokyo’s Kitanomaru National Garden.
Notably, former prime minister Shigeru Yoshida’s state funeral in 1967 marked the last time the nation held a state funeral for a national leader. On July 8, while giving a campaign speech in the Japanese city of Nara, Abe was shot. Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, came up behind the lawmaker and fired two rounds from approximately ten metres away (33 feet).
According to reports, the attacker spent close to a year planning the 67-year-old former head of state’s murder.
According to Hidetada Fukushima, the director of emergency services at Nara Medical University Hospital, Abe had two gunshot wounds to the front of his neck, and the bullet that killed him had also caused damage to his heart and a major artery, which resulted in blood loss.
Dr. Fukushima claimed in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that Abe experienced cardiac arrest at the scene of the attack and lost vital signs while being transported.
After failing to halt the bleeding, doctors tried a blood transfusion, according to Dr. Fukushima. Shinzo Abe was shot while giving a campaign address in western Japan, and he arrived at the hospital without any vital signs.
Abe, the longest-serving prime minister in Japan, resigned in 2020 for health reasons.
Fumio Kishida, Japan’s Prime Minister, said, “This is not a forgivable act, and that authorities would take appropriate measures to handle the situation.”
Kishida added that the reason for Abe’s shooting is unknown. The media outlet cited official sources when it said that the shooting suspect in the death of Abe was formerly a member of the Japan Self-Defense Forces.