PHNOM PENH: After the shocking daylight assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister Hun Sen wrote a letter on Friday, 8 July to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan expressing his condolences.

He wrote, “On behalf of the Royal Government and the people of Cambodia, I would like to convey my heartfelt condolences and deepest sympathy to Your Excellency, and through you, to the bereaved family, as well as the Japanese people on this tragic loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with Your Excellency and the Japanese people in this time of grief.”

The Prime Minister added Shinzo Abe was an outstanding Japanese statesman and had been widely acknowledged and praised for his leadership to move Japan forward, and for his active contribution to peace, stability, and prosperity in the region and beyond. The Prime Minister mourns this good friend of Cambodia who has helped enhance the relationship between the two countries for years.

“A long-time good friend of mine and Cambodia, the Late Prime Minister Abe Shinzo had worked closely with me in enhancing the bilateral relations between Cambodia and Japan during his premiership, including the elevation of our bilateral cooperation to Strategic Partnership in 2013. His Excellency ABE will be dearly missed, and his legacy will be forever remembered," wrote Prime Minister Hun Sen.

This Friday morning, 8 July, Shinzo Abe was fatally shot while campaigning in the city of Nara. Police said a 41-year-old man, Tetsuya Yamagami, was arrested immediately after the incident. He was said to have used a “home-made gun” and local media have reported he was a former member of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.

Officials say former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe died at a hospital in Kashihara City, Nara region, where he was receiving medical treatment. He was 67.