Shinzo Abe 'Bet His Life on Politics' for Japan, His Brother Says

Nobuo Kishi, the politician brother of Japan's late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, lauded the country's "irreplaceable leader" on Tuesday in his first public statement since last week's shock assassination.

Abe, 67, was gunned down with a suspected homemade shotgun in the city of Nara on Friday morning (local time) while campaigning ahead of an upper house parliamentary election over the weekend.

Japan's most influential postwar prime minister was declared dead less than six hours later.

"I have lost my brother. At the same time, Japan has lost an irreplaceable leader," Kishi, 63, said in a statement on Twitter, where he denounced the killing as an act of terrorism, and shared an image of the pair side by side.

"My brother loved Japan and bet his life on politics to protect this country," said Kishi, who his serving his third year as Japan's defense minister. "Those of us left behind all understand. Thank you for your service. Now rest in peace."

Abe, who led the country's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, was Japan's longest-serving leader when he stepped down for health reasons in September 2020. He was succeeded by Yoshihide Suga and later current leader Fumio Kishida, but continued to head the LDP's largest faction until his death.

Tributes have poured in from world leaders in the days after his killing, which shocked a country not accustomed to gun violence.

President Joe Biden delivered personal condolences to Kishida and visited the Japanese Embassy last Friday, before ordering American flags to be flown at half-staff at the White House and at all public grounds across the United States until Sunday.

Abe, Biden said, "was a proud servant of the Japanese people and a faithful friend to the United States."

In Tokyo on Tuesday, mourners gathered at Zojo-ji Temple, where the Abe family had held a private wake the previous day, attended by current and former officials as well as foreign dignitaries, including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and U.S. Ambassador Rahm Emanuel.

A hearse and motorcade carrying the slain leader's body was due to visit the prime minister's residence, known as the Kantei, the Japanese parliament, known as the Diet, and the LDP's headquarters.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who had visited Bali and Bangkok, made an unscheduled refuelling stop in the Japanese capital on Monday to met with officials including PM Kishida.

Abe was a "man of vision with the ability to realise that vision," Blinken said.

Abe was a staunch supporter of the U.S.-Japan alliance and is credited with the creation of the Quad, the group comprising the U.S., Japan, India and Australia.

During his second stint as PM, he was also known for cultivating a personal relationship with former President Donald Trump, sharing hawkish views on China.

The ruling LDP and its coalition partner, Komeito, swept Japan's upper house election on Sunday to retain a two-thirds majority, enough to potentially move on revisions to the country's restrictive postwar constitution—among Abe's long-held ambitions.

On Monday, the Japanese government honored Abe with the Order of the Chrysanthemum, making him only the country's fourth postwar prime minister to receive Japan's highest award for service.

Investigators in Japan have identified Abe's alleged killer as 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami, who carried out the assassination with a DIY firearm and later told police of his intention to kill the former leader.

Police said they were probing as a possible motive Yamagami's claim that Abe had been linked to a religious organization. Local newspaper said the suspect's mother had made donations to the group, leading to her bankruptcy.