Key points
- Landmarks in Australian capital cities will be lit up in red and white as a tribute to assassinated former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has indicated he will travel to Japan to attend Abe’s funeral.
- Albanese said he had invited former Australian leaders to join him in Japan.
The Sydney Opera House and major Melbourne landmarks will be lit up in red and white as a mark of respect for slain former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese spoke of the “cruel paradox” of the assassination of Abe in a heartfelt tribute on Saturday, saying Australia had lost a true friend, as he confirmed states and territories were making arrangements to display their solidarity with Japan.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid tribute to slain former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
“Mr Abe was not destined to be prime minister in easy times. But even as the world shifted beneath our feet, Mr Abe faced all of the challenges with a strength of character and an unbending resolve. He did not flinch, he did not weaken,” Albanese said.
“And that’s the cruel paradox of the tragedy that unfolded yesterday, that someone of such courage with such strength of character could be taken away with an act of extreme callous.
“It’s not the first time we’ve seen this grim equation play out, and I fear that it mightn’t be the last.”
Abe, who only resigned as prime minister in 2020, was shot on the campaign trail for Japan’s upper house elections while attending an event in Nara, near Kyoto, on Friday morning. The assassin, 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami was filmed approaching Abe from behind before firing a homemade shotgun twice in his direction.
Albanese indicated his intention to travel to Japan for Abe’s funeral once the arrangements are confirmed and said he would invite past Australian leaders to attend alongside him.
“I will certainly be inviting, as well, former prime ministers to attend any funeral. Mr Abe was very close, particularly to former prime minister Tony Abbott,” he said.
He said he had been advised that the arrangements for Abe’s funeral would not be determined in Japan until after the country’s election, held on Sunday. Flags will fly at half-mast around Australia on the day of the funeral.
Albanese said he had spoken with NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet and Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, as well as other state leaders, and they had agreed to light up iconic buildings in red and white in recognition of the relationship between Australia and Japan.
Landmark buildings across Melbourne will go red and white from Saturday night, while the Sydney Opera House display will start on Sunday. In Adelaide, the state’s parliament building, the Torrens footbridge and the Adelaide Oval will also have red and white lighting.
Albanese said he had spoken to the Japanese ambassador on Saturday morning to convey Australia’s condolences to Abe’s wife and family.
“A hand that is raised in violence can never overpower what so many hands have built in peace,” he said. “Likewise, this low act of cruelty will not overshadow a life that was lived with such higher purpose.”
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