Memorial service held in Nara for Abe

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Monks chant on Monday in front of flowers offered to honor late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Saidaiji temple in Nara

NARA — A memorial service was held Monday for late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Saidaiji temple, located near the site in Nara where he was fatally shot earlier this month.

Eight monks recited sutras in front of the flowers brought from a special stand set up near the scene where the shooting took place, while about 50 visitors offered incense.

More than 1,000 cardboard boxes of flowers were placed on a stand that Nara City set up as a makeshift memorial at the site on the day of the July 8 attack.