Abe Akie, the widow of Shinzo Abe, held the ashes at 1:26 pm and set off from his house to the state funeral venue.

The picture shows the scene of Abe's state funeral.

(Photo by reporter Lin Cuiyi)

[Instant News/Comprehensive Report] The former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's national funeral was held at the Tokyo Budokan at 2 pm local time. At 1:26 pm, his widow Abe Akie held Abe's ashes and set off from his home to the state funeral venue.

After arriving at the state funeral venue, 1,000 members of the Self-Defense Forces will line up to pay their respects.

According to comprehensive Japanese media reports, Abe Akie took the ashes of Abe Shinzo and boarded the ceremonial car. At 1:26 p.m. Japan time, he set off from his home in Shibuya District to the state funeral ceremony venue. There were also 20 Maritime Self-Defense Forces at the scene. The ceremonial team was in charge of playing music to see off Shinzo Abe.

Please read on...

The limousine carrying Shinzo Abe's ashes passed through the Minato Guest House at 44 minutes, and at 46 minutes, the limousine entered the Ministry of Defense, where staff of the Ministry of Defense and Self-Defense Force cadres lined up to greet him, and arrived at the state funeral venue at 55 minutes.

At the scene, 1,000 members of the Self-Defense Forces, land, sea and air lined up to pay tribute, and were responsible for ceremonial tasks such as firing guns in the air and playing music.

The Ground Self-Defense Force 1st Special Section will also fire a 19-gun salute when the convoy arrives at the Budokan.

After Abe's ashes are placed at the site, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroichi Matsuno, who is the vice chairman of the state funeral ceremony, will deliver a speech and then announce the start of the state funeral.

About 4,300 people attended Shinzo Abe, including about 700 foreign guests, including US Vice President Kamala Harris, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and International Olympics President Thomas Bach.

A total of 218 delegations attended, and my country was represented by Su Jiaquan, President of the Taiwan-Japan Relations Association, Wang Jinping, former Legislative President, and Xie Changting, the representative to Japan.

The state funeral of Shinzo Abe is also the first time the Japanese government has held a state funeral for a former prime minister after a 55-year interval since former Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida held a state funeral in 1967.