Japan holds state funeral for assassinated former prime minister Shinzo Abe

Japan paid its respects to its longest-serving prime minister, Shinzo Abe, in a rare state funeral in Tokyo on Tuesday, 27 September.

Mr Abe was assassinated on 8 July during a campaign rally by a man who said he shot the former prime minister for his alleged connections to the Unification Church, widely known as the “Moonies.”

Protests have broken out across the country against the state funeral, an honour ordinarily reserved only for members of Japan’s imperial family, due to the alleged link.

Over 4,300 people, among them world leaders, attended the service.

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