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Japan offers Indonesians opportunity to pay tribute to Abe
Visitors to the Japanese Consulate General in Medan were able to express their condolences on the passing of former prime minister Shinzo Abe on Monday and Tuesday.
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A man pays tribute to slain former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe at the Consulate General of Japan in Medan on July 11, 2022. Abe, Japan's longest serving prime minister, was fatally shot during a campaign stop on July 8 in an exceedingly rare gun crime in one of the world's safest countries. (AFP/Andi)
T
he Japanese mission in Medan, North Sumatra, opened its doors for locals to pay their final respects to the former prime minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated last week after delivering a stump speech ahead of parliamentary elections.
Visitors to the Japanese Consulate General in Medan were able to express their condolences in a guest book provided by the mission, which opened the doors to its Sinar Mas Land Plaza office in Medan on Monday and Tuesday.
People were also able to send flower arrangements.
North Sumatra Legislative Council Speaker Baskami Ginting was among the prominent figures who paid their respects to Abe.
“We were very surprised by the tragedy that has befallen former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe. On behalf of the North Sumatra Legislative Council, I express my deepest condolences,” Baskami said after making an entry in the guest book on Tuesday.
Besides expressing his grief, the regional legislator also praised Indonesia-Japan bilateral relations, claiming that their close bond was akin to that of siblings.
He also said the North Sumatra administration had recently signed an agreement with Japan to strengthen cooperation in the fields of culture and human resources development.
“This bond we have must continue to be maintained,” he said.
Read also: Japan bids somber farewell to slain Shinzo Abe, its longest-serving premier
Japanese Consul General Takonai Susumu expressed his gratitude to the residents of Medan for coming out to pay tribute to Abe.
Takonai described the bilateral relationship as “extremely close”. He said Abe had visited Indonesia a number of times to meet with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and vice versa.
“We will surely continue with the tradition to further our close friendship with the Medan city administration,” he said.
The Japanese Embassy in Jakarta also offered similar opportunities to pay tribute to the former head of state, according to a press statement.
Abe was assassinated as he was campaigning at a rally in the town of Nara near the cultural hub of Kyoto on Friday. A suspect was apprehended, taken into custody and later confessed to shooting Abe with an improvised homemade gun.
The killing of Japan’s longest-serving prime minister in a country where gun violence is extremely rare has shocked the nation and the world.
