US Foreign Minister Antony Blinken will travel to Japan on Monday to personally offer his condolences following the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday, the State Department said.
Anthony Blinken, who was in Thailand on Sunday, “will offer condolences to the Japanese people” during meetings with senior officials, State Department spokesman Ned Price said.
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Shinzo Abe, shot dead Friday in the middle of an election rally in Nara (western Japan), had built strong relations with the United States during his years in power, particularly in the field of Defense.
“The alliance between Japan and the United States has been the cornerstone of our foreign policy for decades”Anthony Blinken said on Saturday after a meeting with his G20 counterparts on the Indonesian island of Bali. “Prime Minister Abe has really taken this partnership to new heights. The friendship between the Japanese and American peoples is also unshakeable.”he added.