Australian PM says former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe is “a true friend” of Australia, with his condolences

Anthony Albanese has paid tribute to Shinzo Abe, saying he was still shocked by the news of the assassination of the former Japanese prime minister.

On Saturday, Albanese said that the friendship that Abe offered to Australia was “warm in sentiment and profound in consequence.”

“Japan has lost a true patriot and a true leader. And Australia has lost a true friend.”

“No one was more committed to furthering relations between our two nations.”

Albanese hold the view that Abe, as Japanese prime minister, visited Australia five times and played a role in reaching several historic agreements and elevating the relationship between the two countries to a special strategic partnership.

“Mr Abe understood instinctively the values that Australia and Japan share of democracy and human rights and the shared interest we have in bolstering the global rules-based order,” Albanese said.

Albanese also said Abe addressed both houses of parliament in Canberra in 2014 and became the first Japanese leader to visit Darwin four years later, which was bombed by Japan during World War II.

“Mr Abe was a great statesman who made a difference,” Albanese told reporters in Canberra.

“His vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific had a profound effect on regional and global security.”

According to custom, the official Australian flag will be flown at half-mast on the day of Abe’s funeral.

Major Melbourne landmarks will be illuminated in red and white on Saturday night in tribute to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, as will the Adelaide Oval and South Australia’s state parliament. The Sydney Opera House will do the same on Sunday.