TOKYO—The Japanese government said on Friday it would hold a state funeral for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sept. 27.
Abe, prime minister for more than eight years over two terms and hugely influential in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) even after leaving office, was gunned down two weeks ago at a campaign rally, an incident that deeply shocked Japan.
His funeral was held soon after, but the cabinet decided on Friday that a state funeral will be held on Sept. 27 at the Nippon Budokan in central Tokyo.
“We made this decision, as has been said before, due to Abe’s record as the longest-serving prime minister, during which he exerted leadership skills distinctive from others and bore heavy responsibility for dealing with a number of serious domestic and international issues,” chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a news conference on Friday….