Japanese leaders mark 1 year since the assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese political and business leaders are marking one year since the assassination of former leader Shinzo Abe. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged to tackle pressing political goals as a way of honoring Abe’s wishes. At a Buddhist temple Zojoji in Tokyo, Kishida and other mourners on Saturday attended a closed memorial service hosted by Abe’s widow, Akie Abe. Abe was shot with a homemade gun during a campaign speech in the western city of Nara. The alleged assassin has been charged with murder. The investigation has led to revelations of years of cozy ties between Abe’s governing party and the Unification Church.