Sara Duterte to attend ex-Japan PM Abe's state funeral

MANILA — Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday said she would go to Japan next week to attend the state funeral of assassinated former prime minister Shinzo Abe.

Duterte made the announcement on Facebook after Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Kazuhiko Koshikawa visited the Office of the Vice President earlier in the day.

She said she told the envoy she would bring condolence letters from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte.

"Inihayag ni Ambassador Koshikawa ang kanyang paunang pasasalamat sa aking nakatakdang pagbisita sa Japan sa susunod na linggo para sa state funeral ni yumaong Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe," Duterte said.

(Ambassador Koshikawa expressed his thanks for my scheduled visit to Japan next week for the state funeral of the late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.)

Abe was shot dead on July 8 by a gunman in the Nara region as he campaigned for his ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

His suspected murderer reportedly resented the Unification Church because his mother had made hefty donations to the sect, and believed Abe was linked to the group.

• Unification Church: A global religious movement

The state funeral for Abe, Japan's longest-serving prime minister and the country's best-known politician, is set for Sept. 27 at Tokyo's storied Budokan venue. US Vice President Kamala Harris and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese are among the leaders expected to attend.

Japan is a top trade partner of the Philippines and had funded several projects under the previous administration's infrastructure drive, noted Duterte.

• PH eyes partnership with Japan after China-backed rail deals stalled

— With a report from Agence France-Presse

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