PUTRAJAYA: Senior Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali will represent the Prime Minister at the State Funeral Ceremony for former Japanese Prime Minister, the late Shinzo Abe.

The state funeral will be held on Sept 27 at Nippon Budokan, Tokyo.

Foreign Ministry in a statement today said the ceremony includes a greeting session with Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida, in the presence of Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan, Hirokazu Matsuno, and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi.

Mohamed Azmin will also extend condolences to Abe's spouse, Akie Abe at the Akasaka Palace, in Tokyo.

Abe, the longest-serving prime minister in Japan was assassinated while delivering an election speech in Nara on July 8.

During his tenure as the Prime Minister of Japan, Abe visited Malaysia three times and played an instrumental role in enhancing bilateral relations including strengthening further the Look East Policy (LEP).

His last visit to Malaysia as the Special Envoy of the Prime Minister of Japan was to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the LEP in March 2022.

During the visit, he had an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah as well as a meeting with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

Prime Minister and Foreign Minister had signed the book of condolences at the Embassy of Japan in Kuala Lumpur on July 13, the statement read.

-- BERNAMA