Funeral of former Japanese PM Abe held in Tokyo

TOKYO - A funeral was held on Tuesday in central Tokyo for Japan's former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was shot dead while delivering a speech last week.

The ceremony took place at the Zojoji Temple at the foot of the iconic Tokyo Tower. Besides Abe's wife Akie, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, some lawmakers as well as foreign dignitaries and business leaders attended the funeral.

Memorial services are scheduled to be held later in Tokyo and in his constituency in Yamaguchi Prefecture.

Abe was shot Friday at close range by a 41-year old local, who used a handmade double-barreled gun, on a street in the western city of Nara while giving a speech for a candidate of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party for Sunday's upper house election.