Former President Donald Trump is in talks with the late former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s family about potentially attending his funeral in the wake of his assassination.
Mr. Trump, who shared a close relationship with Mr. Abe, said he is looking into the logistics of attending and recalled him being the first world leader he met with while he was president.
“We’re going to see how it goes,” Mr. Trump told Breitbart News. “We’re talking to their family. We love the family. His wife is a phenomenal woman. He is so loved in Japan, I can imagine that is going to be an incredible celebration of life. He was just very special. Every aspect of that man was just very special.”
Mr. Trump added that Mr. Abe came to the United States right after the 2016 election, and said they had “a special relationship.”
Mr. Trump called Mr. Abe’s death “bad news for the world” after it was reported that he died of gunshot wounds on Friday, after five hours of emergency medical procedures.
Mr. Abe, 67, was gunned down in broad daylight while making a speech ahead of Japan’s Upper House elections on Sunday.
The incident was shocking, given Japan’s strict gun laws and extremely low rate of gun violence in the country.
According to The Straits Times, the last political assassination in Japan prior to Friday was in April 2007 when a yakuza gang member fatally shot Nagasaki City Mayor Iccho Itoh while he was campaigning for reelection.
• Mica Soellner can be reached at msoellner@washingtontimes.com.
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