Mourners streamed into a temple in Tokyo to pay their respects to Japan’s slain former premier Shinzo Abe on Monday, as his assassination overshadowed an election win for the ruling party he had dominated.
Current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who has the chance to cement his own power following Sunday’s election gains, and US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen were among hundreds attending Abe’s wake, three days after he was shot at an election rally.

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A private funeral for Abe, who resigned in 2020 and was Japan’s longest-serving premier, is scheduled for Tuesday.
“There is a profound sense of sorrow at his loss,” Yellen told reporters outside the temple, where she placed incense in Abe’s honor and greeted his family.
“Prime Minister Abe was a visionary leader and he strengthened Japan. And I know that his legacy will live on and result in a more prosperous Japan,” she added.
Abe’s shooting shocked a nation where political violence and gun crime is rare.
The suspected killer, identified by police as 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami, believed Abe had promoted a religious group to which his mother made a “huge donation,” Kyodo news agency has said, citing investigative sources.
The Unification Church, a controversial group known for its mass weddings and devoted followers, said on Monday the suspect’s mother was one of its members.

 Neither Abe nor Yamagami were members of the church, said Tomihiro Tanaka, president of the Japan branch of the church, officially called Family Federation for World Peace and Unification. Nor was Abe an adviser to the church, Tanaka said, adding that it would cooperate with police if asked to do so.
Reuters was not immediately able to contact Yamagami’s mother and could not determine whether she belonged to any other religious organizations

Somber victory

In elections held on Sunday, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its ruling coalition partner extended their majority in the upper house of parliament. With a majority already in place in the lower house, what would have been a celebratory mood at LDP headquarters in usual circumstances turned somber.A moment of silence for Abe was offered in his memory, and Kishida’s face remained grim as he pinned rosettes next to winning candidates’ names on a board in a symbol of their victory.US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Kishida during a brief stopover on Monday to offer condolences on behalf of President Joe Biden.