PUTRAJAYA – International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali will represent prime minister at the state funeral ceremony for the late former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.
The state funeral will be held on September 27 at Nippon Budokan, Tokyo.
Foreign Ministry, in a statement today, said the ceremony includes a greeting session with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, in the presence of Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi.
Azmin will also extend condolences to Abe’s spouse, Akie Abe, at the Akasaka Palace in Tokyo.
Abe, the longest-serving prime minister in Japan, was assassinated while delivering an election speech in Nara on July 8.
During his tenure as the prime minister of Japan, Abe visited Malaysia three times and played an instrumental role in enhancing bilateral relations including strengthening further the Look East Policy (LEP).
His last visit to Malaysia as the special envoy of the prime minister of Japan was to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the LEP in March 2022.
During the visit, he had an audience with Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah as well as a meeting with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
The prime minister and foreign minister had signed the book of condolences at the Japanese embassy in Kuala Lumpur on July 13, the statement read. – Bernama, September 26, 2022