Japanese prepare to bid farewell to slain Abe with controversial state funeral

Long lines of people, both young and old, streamed steadily outside Nippon Budokan in the capital city, bowing and praying in front of Abe's portrait at an altar. A man was also seen holding up a Taiwan flag to the large portrait draped with black ribbon hung over a bank of green, white and yellow flowers.

Later on Tuesday, Japan will honour Abe, a polarizing figure who dominated modern-day politics as its longest-serving leader, with a rare state funeral that has become nearly as divisive as he was.

Abe's killing at a July 8 campaign rally set off a flood of revelations about ties between lawmakers in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) he once ran and the Unification Church, which critics call a cult, sparking a backlash against current premier Fumio Kishida.

Reuters