Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Lai visits Japan to pay respects to Abe

Taipei Times

A Japanese TV news image shows Vice President William Lai, second left, accompanied by Representative to Japan Frank Hsieh, left, in Tokyo yesterday.
Photo: screen grab from Twitter

Vice President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday became the most senior Taiwanese official to visit Japan in five decades when he traveled to Tokyo to offer condolences after the assassination of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.

Tokyo broke official ties with Taipei in 1972 and established relations with Beijing.

‘Most respected Japanese leader’ mourned

Taipei Times

A man writes a message on a wall put up in front of the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association’s Taipei office yesterday to commemorate former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated on Friday.
Photo: CNA

The All Japan Taiwanese Union yesterday expressed its condolences to Japan after former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated during an election campaign event in Nara, Japan, on Friday.

Abe won the respect of many international leaders, and Taiwanese regard him as “the most respected and amiable Japanese politician,” the group said in a statement.

Abe killing raises security concerns

Lin Han 林志翰

Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was fatally shot while delivering a campaign speech in Nara, Japan, on the eve of the Japanese House of Councilors elections. The tragic news shocked the world. Abe, who had always been a strong supporter of Taiwan, gained much respect from Taiwanese, who grieve his passing.

Abe was born to a prominent political family. His maternal grandfather Nobusuke Kishi and his great-uncle Eisaku Sato had served as prime ministers, while his father, Shintaro Abe, was a foreign minister.

Shinzo Abe was himself a legendary figure in Japanese politics. When he first took office in 2006 at the age of 52, he was the first prime minister born after World War II and the youngest in the post-war era.

Shock as former Japan PM assassinated

Taipei Times

A woman yesterday prays at a makeshift memorial set up in Nara, Japan, after former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was shot dead near the site.
Photo: AFP

Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was yesterday assassinated on a street in western Japan by a gunman who opened fire from behind as he delivered a campaign speech.

The 67-year-old Abe, who was Japan’s longest-serving leader when he resigned in 2020, collapsed bleeding and was airlifted to a nearby hospital in Nara, although he was not breathing and his heart had stopped.

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