New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met with Akie Abe, the wife of Japan’s late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and fondly recalled his close friendship with Shinzo Abe.

PM Modi also expressed his appreciation for Akie Abe’s ongoing engagement with India.

Sharing a post on X, he wrote, “Pleased to meet Mrs. Abe this afternoon. Recalled my close personal friendship with former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan.”

“Abe San’s belief in the potential of India-Japan relations will remain a source of enduring strength for us. Deeply appreciate Mrs. Abe’s continuing association with India,” the post on X further read.

Earlier in the day, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also held a meeting with Akie Abe. He recalled memories of Shinzo Abe and his commitment to “friendship” between India and Japan.

He also said that the strategic vision of the former Japanese Prime Minister will serve as a guiding light for the ties between India and Japan.

In a post on X, Mr Jaishankar stated, “The meeting with Mrs. Akie Abe this morning brought back so many memories of PM Shinzo Abe and his commitment to India-Japan friendship. As our ties steadily progress, the strategic vision of PM Abe will always serve as a guiding spirit.”

Shinzo Abe was assassinated in Nara on July 8, 2022, during an election campaign address on the street. He was taken to the hospital, where Abe was pronounced dead.

Abe (67), the former Liberal Democratic Party leader and Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, held office from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020, before resigning due to health reasons. PM Modi had condoled the demise of Abe and attended the state funeral of the late Japanese PM at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo on September 27, 2022.

In 2007, Shinzo Abe, during his visit to India, delivered the famous “The Confluence of Two Seas” speech in the Indian parliament, according to a Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). He also participated in Republic Day celebrations as the Chief Guest in 2014. He was conferred with India’s highest civilian honour, Padma Vibhushan, in 2021.

Notably, India and Japan share a ‘Special Strategic and Global Partnership’. Friendship between the two nations has a long history rooted in spiritual affinity and strong cultural and civilisational ties, according to MEA.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

Following the shooting of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, AFP looks at five other political leaders around the world targeted in armed attacks in recent years:

Shinzo Abe: Assassinated

In a drama that sent shock waves through a country with low gun crime, former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, who had resigned from his position in 2020 but remained a key political voice, was campaigning for his ruling party when a lone gunman killed him on July 8, 2022.

Abe’s accused killer targeted the former leader believing he had ties to the Unification Church, which he resented over massive donations his mother had made to the sect.

Jovenel Moise: Assassinated

Haitian president Jovenel Moise was shot dead in the middle of the night on July 7, 2021 in his private residence in Port-au-Prince by a band of 28 mercenaries.

His wife Martine was also shot but survived.

His death plunged an already lawless, gang-plagued Haiti deeper into turmoil.

Most of his attackers were former Colombian soldiers.

A US investigation revealed that two men at the head of a Miami security firm had devised a plan to kidnap Moise and replace him with a Haitian-American citizen.

Imran Khan: Attempted Assassination

On November 3, 2022, former Pakistani prime minister and ex-cricket superstar Imran Khan was hit by a spray of gunfire as his open-top truck made its way through a crowded street in the eastern city of Wazirabad. 

Khan, who had been ousted from power earlier that year after losing the support of the military, had been campaigning for a snap election.

The government said the assassination bid was the work of a lone wolf attacker, with police leaking a “confession” video by the junk-shop owner saying he acted because Khan’s rally had interrupted the Muslim call to prayer.

Cristina Kirchner: Attempted Assassination

On September 1, 2022, a man tried to shoot Argentina’s vice president Cristina Kirchner at point-blank range while she greeted supporters gathered outside her home in Buenos Aires — but the weapon failed to fire. 

Kirchner, a centre-left president from 2007 to 2015 who is an extremely polarising figure in Argentina, was at the time fighting corruption charges that had bitterly divided the nation between supporters and opponents of her Peronism movement.

Her attacker, a Brazilian man who grew up in Argentina, was seen on social media bearing tattoos associated with Nazi symbolism.

Jair Bolsonaro: Attempted Assassination

On September 6, 2018 Brazilian far-right presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro was stabbed in the abdomen on the campaign trail by an attacker later deemed mentally unfit to stand trial.

Former army captain Bolsonaro, dubbed the “Trump of the Tropics”, underwent abdominal surgery in the wake of the attack and went on to win the election.

He served a single term before losing his re-election bid to veteran leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The logo of of Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, formerly known as Unification Church, is seen on the wall of the the building housing its headquarters in Tokyo, on Oct. 12, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP

The Japanese government said Thursday it was seeking to strip official recognition from the Unification Church, the influential sect under intense scrutiny since the assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida last year ordered a probe into the church after it emerged that Abe’s alleged killer was motivated by resentment against the group.

It has been accused of pressuring its followers into making hefty donations and blamed for child neglect among its members.

If granted, the court dissolution order sought by the government would see the church lose its tax-exempt status, among other legal privileges, but still be allowed to continue its religious practices.

“In view of the extensive damage caused, we find that it falls under the grounds for ordering dissolution as stated in the religious corporations law,” Education Minister Masahito Moriyama told reporters after a panel of experts unanimously agreed with the decision.

The church “forced a number of people to contribute donations and buy items… in a way that restricted their free decision-making and sabotaged their sound judgement”, he added.

The minister said the request would be filed to the Tokyo District Court as early as Friday, once “preparations are complete”.

Mr. Kishida said separately that the government’s plan was based on facts and a careful review of the matter.

“Based on the law and in accordance with the objective facts, careful work was done and the Minister of Education made the decision,” he told reporters at his office.

Abe was gunned down in broad daylight last year while giving a campaign speech in the western Nara region.

The suspect, Tetsuya Yamagami, is said to have resented the sect over large donations his mother made that bankrupted his family.

He could face the death penalty if convicted.

Investigations after Abe’s death revealed close ties between the church and many conservative ruling lawmakers in Japan.

Four of Mr. Kishida’s ministers have since stepped down over allegations of financial irregularities or links to the church.