World leaders react to shocking attack on Shinzo Abe

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Leaders around the world condemned the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday as “despicable,” “cowardly” and “terrorism” while recalling him as a man devoted to peace, security and international cooperation.

Tributes poured in as governments expressed sorrow and solidarity with Japan over the loss of Abe, who was Japan’s longest-serving leader before stepping down in 2020 for health reasons.

Abe, 67, was shot from behind in Nara in western Japan while giving a campaign speech. He was airlifted to a hospital and later pronounced dead. The attack was especially shocking in one of the world’s safest countries, where guns are strictly controlled.

U.S. President Joe Biden said he was “stunned, outraged, and deeply saddened.” He visited the residence of Japan’s ambassador to the U.S. on Friday to offer condolences. He placed a bouquet of flowers on a table set up near a koi pond and wrote in a condolence book that Abe was “a man of peace and judgment.”

“This is a tragedy for Japan and for all who knew him,” Biden said. “His vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific will endure. Above all, he cared deeply about the Japanese people and dedicated his life to their service.“

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who hastily returned to Tokyo from campaign events around the country, condemned the “unforgivable act.” He said campaigning as well as Sunday’s elections for parliament’s upper house will proceed.

“The free and fair election, which is the root of democracy, needs to be protected no matter what. We will not be defeated by violence,” Kishida said.

Biden called Kishida “a very solid guy” and said he did not believe the killing was likely to have “any profound, destabilizing impact on Japanese security or Japanese solidarity.”

Leaders from Turkey to Singapore condemned the attack. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the French foreign ministry called the shooting “despicable,” and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said it was “cowardly.”

The U.N. Security Council stood in silent tribute to Abe after the current council president, Brazil’s U.N. Ambassador Ronaldo Costa Filho, expressed “our sadness and shock at the senseless assassination.”

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Abe will be remembered “as a staunch defender of multilateralism, respected leader and supporter of the United Nations.” Abe was committed to promoting peace and security, championing U.N. development goals and advocating for universal health coverage, Guterres said, according to his spokesman.

“I have fond memories of meeting Mr. Abe and his wife during their visit to the United Kingdom in 2016,” Queen Elizabeth II said in a written statement. “His love for Japan, and his desire to forge ever-closer bonds with the United Kingdom, were clear.”

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted his “deepest condolences to his family and the people of Japan at this difficult time,” while South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol called the shooting “an intolerable criminal act,” his office said.

Iran said it was “an act of…