US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a meeting at the G-20 Foreign Ministers Summit in Nusa Dua on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on July 8.
(Stefani Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images)
Tributes to Shinzo Abe have continued to pour in from politicians around the world, many recalling their visits with the former leader and expressing shock at his killing.
French President Emmanuel Macron he said, “Japan has lost a great prime minister.”
“On behalf of the French people, I send my condolences to the authorities and the Japanese people after the assassination of Shinzo Abe. Japan has lost a great prime minister, who dedicated his life to his country and worked to bring balance in the world,” Macron tweeted.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Abe’s killing “shocking” and praised Abe as “a leader with great vision” and an “extraordinary partner”, who took US-Japan relations “to new levels”.
“It’s deeply disturbing in itself, it’s also such a strong personal loss for so many people,” Blinken said Friday.
Some former leaders who worked with Abe during his time as Japanese prime minister also offered their condolences.
Former British Prime Minister David Cameron He said Abe was “a good friend personally, a strong partner of the UK and a thoroughly kind and decent man”. He called her death “devastating and really shocking”.
Israel’s ex-leader Benjamin Netanyahu said he will “always remember Shinzo Abe and cherish our deep friendship,” while Nicolas Sarkozy, the former French Prime Ministercalled him “a great leader who left his mark on Japan.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called Abe’s death “incredibly shocking”, adding that he was “deeply saddened”. Trudeau tweeted: “The world has lost a great man of vision and Canada has lost a close friend. My thoughts are with his wife Akie and the people of Japan as they mourn this loss. You will be missed my friend My”.
The president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro He said Abe was “a brilliant leader” in a tweet on Friday. “I receive with extreme indignation and pain the news of the death of @AbeShinzo, a brilliant leader who was a great friend of Brazil. I extend to Abe’s family, as well as to our Japanese brothers, my solidarity and my wish that God watch over their souls in this time of pain,” he said.
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky sent its “deepest condolences” to Abe’s family and the people of Japan. “Horrible news of a brutal assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. My deepest condolences to his family and the people of Japan at this difficult time. There is no excuse for this heinous act of violence.” tweet Zelensky.
The President of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen said she was “extremely pained” by Abe’s death, referring to the leader as “Taiwan’s staunchest friend”. Tsai Ing-wen said Abe was “an old friend” she had known “for more than a decade”.
UN Secretary General António Guterres he tweeted his condolences for Abe’s murder. “I am deeply saddened by the horrific assassination of Shinzo Abe, former Prime Minister of Japan,” Guterres said. “I had the privilege of knowing him for years and will always remember his collegiality and commitment to multilateralism. My condolences to his family, the people and the government of Japan.”
Former President of the United States Barack Obama said he is “shocked and saddened” by Abe’s murder. In a statement, he described the close relationship that the two leaders forged during their second term and the “extraordinary alliance” between the two nations. In 2016, Obama traveled to Hiroshima with Abe, becoming the first sitting US president to do so, and later that year, Abe returned the gesture, becoming the first Japanese prime minister to visit Pearl Harbor.
Former US President George W. Bushwho worked with Abe during his first term as Japanese prime minister in 2006, said in a statement that he was “deeply saddened to learn of the senseless murder,” adding that “Shinzo Abe he was a patriot of his country who wanted to continue serving. that.”
Queen Elizabeth II, in a message of condolence to Japan’s emperor, he said Abe’s “love for Japan and his desire to forge ever closer ties with the UK were clear”. I want to convey my deepest condolences and sympathies to his family and the people of Japan at this difficult time.”
Secretary for Relations with the Vatican States, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher expressed his “deep sadness,” saying in an interview with Italy’s state broadcaster RAI on Friday that Abe “was a man who had great influence beyond Japan’s borders. He was also a very controversial person, but a man of principles, a man with a great sense of the common good of his people”.
