TOKYO: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived on Monday July 11 during an unscheduled stopover in Tokyo to offer his condolences in person following the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The senior US diplomat landed at the Yokota military base and was due to make a brief trip to the capital to see Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and express his grief.
Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister who has backed strong advocacy and political ties with the United States, was shot and killed during a campaign stop on Friday in an extremely rare crime with a gun in the chest. one of the safest countries in the world.
US President Joe Biden visited the Japanese ambassador’s residence earlier to sign the condolence book.
Blinken decided to stop in Tokyo as he was visiting Southeast Asia.
During his Sunday stopover in Thailand, Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai opened talks with Blinken by offering Abe a minute’s silence.
“I think everyone is still in shock over his murder, in shock over the loss of family, friends and the world,” Blinken told his Thai counterpart.
“I know it’s felt so deeply across the region as well as around the world.”