Current and former leaders of Australia have expressed shock and dismay at the shooting of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, who has been hailed as a great friend to Australia over his many years leading Japan.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese tweeted that the assassination attempt was “shocking news”.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe addressing Australian parliament in 2014.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
“Our thoughts are with his family and the people of Japan at this time,” he said.
Japan’s ambassador to Australia Yamagami Shingo said the embassy was following the situation with concern.
“We are all shocked to hear the news. Such an outrageous act should never be condoned,” he tweeted.
Abe was prime minister of Japan from 2006 to 2007 and again 2012 to 2020, a period that spanned six Australian prime ministers: John Howard, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison.
On Twitter, Turnbull said he was “horrified” by the news.
“Abe Shinzo is one of the great leaders of our times. Right now we must hope and pray that he pulls through,” he wrote.
After Abe’s 2020 resignation as prime minister, Turnbull wrote for Nikkei Asia that he had been struck by Abe’s “good humour, charm and above all calm”, and the pair had also developed a “warm friendship”. He also praised Abe as a close friend to Australia.
Following Friday’s alleged attack, Abbott echoed that sentiment.
“Australia has never had a better friend in Japan than Shinzo Abe, which is why we are so numbed by this appalling act,” he tweeted.
“This is a shocking act of violence against one of the world’s leading democratic statesmen and we all have to hope and pray that he somehow pulls through.”
Morrison said Australia’s prayers were also with Abe’s wife Akie and the people of Japan.
“PM Abe is a great and wise friend of Australia and one of the most important global leaders of the post-war era,” Morrison wrote on Facebook.
Marise Payne, who was foreign minister in the Morrison government, said on Twitter that she was “deeply distressed” by the news, and Abe was “a great friend and leader”.
In a statement, Rudd said the entire world was shaken by Abe’s shooting.
“Australians will share a sense of disbelief that this act of apparent political violence could be committed in such a free, open and robust democracy as Japan,” he said.
“An attack on any democratically elected political leader in the world is an attack on supporters of democracy everywhere.”
Rudd said Abe has been a “dynamic political leader” of Japan for many years, and people in Australia and across the world were hoping he would recover.
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