President Joe Biden said he was “stunned, outraged, and deeply saddened” by the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the close US ally’s longest-serving leader.
Mr Abe was killed Friday morning while campaigning in Nara, a city in western Japan, for a candidate in the upcoming Japanese election.
Just after he began his speech, a gunman who’d taken up a position behind him fired two shots at the former prime minister, striking him twice. He was quickly airlifted to a hospital, but doctors said he bled to death from his wounds.
In a statement, Mr Biden called Mr Abe “a champion of the Alliance between our nations and the friendship between our people” and said his murder was “a tragedy for Japan and for all who knew him”.
The president noted that he had the “privilege” of working closely with the Japanese leader while serving as Vice President from 2009-2017, and said Mr Abe’s “vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific will endure”.
“Above all, he cared deeply about the Japanese people and dedicated his life to their service. Even at the moment he was attacked, he was engaged in the work of democracy,” Mr Biden said. “While there are many details that we do not yet know, we know that violent attacks are never acceptable and that gun violence always leaves a deep scar on the communities that are affected by it”.
He added that the United States “stands with Japan in this moment of grief” and said he sends his “deepest condolences” to the Abe family.
Mr Biden also told reporters he had tried to speak with the incumbent Japanese prime minister, Fumio Kishida, by phone early Friday but had not been able to reach him. He said he would instead be speaking with him tomorrow morning before adding that he plans to sign an official condolence book at the Japanese embassy in Washington.
The president also issued a proclamation ordering US flags “at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions” to be flown at half-mast in Mr Abe’s honour until sunset on 10 July.
In a statement, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he offered his “sincerest condolences” on the “tragic passing” of Mr Abe, who he called “a global leader and unwavering ally and friend of the United States” whose “vision of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific lifted [the US-Japan] Alliance cooperation to new heights”.
Other top US officials expressed their sadness at Mr Abe’s death in statements offering their condolences to the Japanese people.
“Congress and our Country join the people of Japan in mourning the sad loss of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe: a murder that has horrified so many across the globe,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who called him “an historic leader, a valued friend to America, and a champion of peace and prosperity”.
Ms Pelosi said it had been a “special privilege” for her and her colleagues to hear Mr Abe address a joint session of Congress during a 2015 visit to Washington, and recalled how she had been “deeply honoured” when he attended a ceremony at which then-emperor Akihito awarded her the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun.
“May it be a comfort to Prime Minister Abe’s wife, Akie, to their family and to the people of Japan that so many in America and across the globe pray with them during this terrible time,” she said. “In his memory, let us renew our pledge to carry on his commitment to peace, to advance our shared security interests and to strengthen the alliance between our nations, now and for generations to come”.
Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, wrote on Twitter that he was “horrified by the assassination of Prime Minister Abe,” who he called “a remarkable global leader and stalwart friend of the United States”.
Mr McConnell added that he was “praying for [the Abe family] and for the people of Japan”.
