Blinken says US ‘deeply concerned’ by Shinzo Abe shooting
Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe (C) is transported into an ambulance near Yamato Saidaiji Station after being shot in the city of Nara on July 8, 2022. Shinzo Abe was shot at a campaign event on July 8, a government spokesman said, as local media reported the nation’s longest-serving premier was showing no vital signs. (Photo by Yomiuri Shimbun / AFP) / Japan OUT / NO ARCHIVES
BALI, Indonesia — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken voiced alarm and sadness on Friday after the shooting of Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe, a longtime ally of Washington.
“This is a very, very sad moment,” Blinken told reporters at a G20 meeting in Bali, saying the United States was “deeply saddened and deeply concerned”.
“We don’t know his condition,” Blinken said. “Our thoughts, our prayers are with him, with his family, with the people of Japan.”
Blinken was speaking at the start of a meeting with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, who is chairing the Group of 20 talks.
She said that she wished to “convey our deepest sympathies, and our prayers, for the speedy recovery of the former prime minister”.
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