Japanese bid last farewell to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

Abe, the country's longest-lived prime minister, remained an influential person even after he resigned two years ago for health reasons. He was shot Friday during a campaign speech in the western town of Nara.

The convoy, carrying his body, accompanied by his wife, Akie Abe, slowly passed through the crowd.

Only she and other close family members, along with the prime minister, Fumio Kishida and senior party leaders, attended the funeral at the temple.

The car you carried his body passed through Tokyo's main political district, Nagata-cho, where Abe spent more than three decades after being elected to parliament for the first time in 1991.

The car then slowly drove past the ruling party headquarters, where senior lawmakers in dark suits stayed out and prayed for it, ahead of the passage from the prime minister's office, where Abe served nearly a decade.

Prime Minister Kishida and the members of the cabinet pressed toward the car carrying his body.

On Sunday, two days after Abe's shocking death, his party, the Liberal Democratic Party and its partner won the landslide victory in the upper house elections, less powerful than the two chambers of parliament.

This could lead to Prime Minister Kishida's continued government until the elections, scheduled in 2025. But Abe's death also opens a period of uncertainty for his party.

Experts say fighting for power within the faction of Abe's party is certain.

Kishida has stressed the importance of party unity after Abe's death.

Abe's shooting has shaken Japan, one of the safest countries in the world with some of the strictest weapons laws.

Japan's former prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has died in the hospital, where he has been sent in serious condition after being wounded on 8 July during a speech in the town of Nara. He was attending an election rally when he was shot. His alleged attacker was immediately arrested at the scene. / REL