Israeli cities paid homage to former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was considered a close friend of Israel and who worked to build close ties between the two countries.
Abe, who was the longest-serving prime minister in modern Japanese history, was shot dead in the southern city of Nara on Friday during a political campaign event.
The Jerusalem Municipality illuminated the Light Rail Bridge at the entrance to the city with the flags of Israel and Japan on Sunday night as a sign of solidarity with the Japanese people.
Jerusalem’s Mayor Moshe Leon stated that “the city of Jerusalem sends its condolences to the Japanese people and mourns the death of a friend of Israel, a great leader for his people and the whole world. I wish from Jerusalem, the city of peace, comfort and reconciliation for the whole world.”
Miriam Fierberg-Ikar, mayor of the coastal city of Netanya, decided to name a spectacular Japanese garden located in the heart of Planetaniya — the city’s science, space, and cultural center — after Abe.
The garden has Japanese symbolic elements, including a water fountain, a bridge, a lantern and a combination of bonsai trees.
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Netanya Mayor Miriam Fierberg-Ikar announces renaming of Japanese garden after slain Japanese PM Shinzo Abe
(Photo: Screenshot)
Fierberg-Ikar noted that Abe was “a lover of Israel, worked hard to strengthen relations between the two countries, and under his leadership, Japan became a true friend of the State of Israel.”
Besides visiting Jerusalem's Yad Vashem Holocaust museum during his 2018 trip to Israel, Abe also made sure to visit other Holocaust-related sites around the world, including the Holocaust Museum in Washington and the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.
“It is only natural that we should commemorate his name at the Planetaniya, which was established thanks to the generous donation of Rikiharu, a Tokyo businessman, who also felt a special connection to the Jewish people.”
The center is also located on a street named after Chiune Sugihara, a Righteous Among the Nations who served as a Japanese vice-consul in Lithuania during World War II and provided visas to thousands of Jewish refugees who fled the Nazis, including some Netanya residents nicknamed “the Japanese.”
Knesset Speaker Mickey Levy paid a visit to Japanese Ambassador to Israel Koichi Mizushima at his residence on Monday and offered his condolences over Abe's departure.
Levy was the first to sign in the condolence book in memory of Abe, where he wrote “I was saddened to hear about the assassination of former PM Shinzo Abe. His tragic death is a despicable act of violence that has no place in a democratic society.
PM Abe was a great friend of Israel and the architect of the robust relations we enjoy today. Shinzo Abe will be sorely missed. On behalf of the Knesset, I extend my deepest condolences to his family, friends, and the people of Japan.”
First published: 13:48, 07.11.22