Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda arrived on Sunday in Japan where she is due to attend the funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday.
On Monday, the day before the funeral, the head of the Gabonese government was received by the current Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
« In Tokyo on Monday 26 September, I was received by the Prime Minister of Japan Mr. Fumio Kishida, » said Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda on her Facebook page.
« On behalf of President Ali Bongo Ondimba, I renewed Gabon’s sympathy and reaffirmed our country’s unfailing friendship with Japan, » added the head of the Gabonese government.
Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda was among some 700 foreign dignitaries (along with US Vice President Kamala Harris) present at the non-denominational ceremony for the state funeral of Shinzo Abe. The one and a half hour ceremony started at 5am GMT (6am Libreville time).
As a reminder, Japan’s best-known international political figure, Shinzo Abe, who was Prime Minister from 2006 to 2007 and from 2012 to 2020, was shot dead in the middle of a political meeting on 8 July at the age of 67.
