Japan gives former PM Shinzo Abe a final send-of

A portrait of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe is displayed inside the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo on Sept 27, 2022. - AFP

TOKYO (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, a giant in diplomacy yet controversial at home, was given a final send-off in a state funeral attended by about 4,300 guests, including 700 from abroad, on Tuesday (Sept 27).

The event, held at the Nippon Budokan arena that hosted Olympic events, was also a stone's throw from the Yasukuni Shrine that is seen as a symbol of its wartime history.