FILE PHOTO: Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe lies on the ground after he was shot during an election campaign in Nara, western Japan July 8, 2022 in this photo taken by The Asahi Shimbun. Image pixelated at source. The Asahi Shimbun/via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. JAPAN OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN JAPAN./File Photo
Tokyo: The Japanese government is planning to hold a state funeral on Sept. 27 for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who was shot dead at an election rally this month.
Japanese NHK News reported that the site will be the Nippon Budokan, an arena originally built for the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games that has since been a popular venue for sports events and concerts as well as the site for a memorial service for World War II held every year on Aug. 15.
Japan's Prime Minister Kishida Fumio had announced earlier that the government would hold a state funeral for Abe in the autumn.
The government will consult with the ruling parties before seeking Cabinet approval for the funeral.
Abe, the longest-serving prime minister of Japan, was shot and killed by a 41-year-old unemployed man while delivering a campaign speech in Nara, in a crime condemned by the political establishment as an attack on democracy itself.
