The U.S. ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, mentioned that he was shocked and saddened by news of the capturing.
“Abe-san has been an outstanding leader of Japan and unwavering ally of the United States,” Emanuel mentioned in a press release Friday. “The U.S. Government and American people are praying for the well-being of Abe-san, his family, and people of Japan.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, talking from Indonesia, the place he’s attending a G-20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, expressed how “deeply saddened and deeply concerned we are by the news coming from Japan, about the attempt on the life of former Prime Minister Abe.”
“Our thoughts, our prayers are with him and his family, with the people of Japan,” Blinken mentioned. “This is a very, very sad moment, and we’re awaiting news from Japan.”
Abe hails from Japan’s political elite and as prime minister had made reviving financial development by means of his “Abenomics” insurance policies a key pillar of his time in workplace.
Though Abe had been praised for amplifying Japan’s profile on the world stage, his occasion was affected by scandals and he was accused of mishandling the nation’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Abe’s resignation two years in the past got here amid a worsening of his ulcerative colitis, a continual bowel situation he’d battled for years.
He made the announcement days after he set a report as Japan’s longest-lasting prime minister, having been in workplace for nearly eight years. He beforehand served as prime minister from 2006 to 2007.
In a submit to his Truth Social platform late Thursday, former President Donald Trump known as Abe “a truly great man and leader.”
“He was a true friend of mine and, much more importantly, America,” Trump mentioned. “This is a tremendous blow to the wonderful people of Japan, who loved and admired him so much. We are all praying for Shinzo and his beautiful family!”
Abe was the primary overseas chief to fulfill with Trump after he grew to become president-elect in November 2016.
Arata Yamamoto reported from Tokyo, and Jennifer Jett reported from Hong Kong.
Claire Cardona and Olivier Fabre contributed.
