TOKYO (Reuters) – The Japanese government decided on Friday to hold the state funeral planned for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sept. 27, a person who was at the cabinet meeting to confirm the plan told Reuters.
Abe, who was the country’s longest-serving premier and remained influential in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), was shot to death by an assailant two weeks ago at a pre-election campaign rally.
The funeral will be held at the Nippon Budokan, an arena originally built for the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games that has since been a popular venue for sports events and concerts. It is also the site for a memorial service for World War Two dead held every year on Aug. 15.
(Reporting by Yoshifumi Takemoto; Writing by Chang-Ran Kim)
