Abe Attends Funeral for Former Singapore Leader Lee

Singapore, March 29 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended the state funeral for Lee Kuan Yew, the founding prime minister of Singapore, on Sunday. The rare participation of a sitting Japanese prime minister in the funeral for a foreign dignitary is intended in part to underscore the emphasis the Abe government places on ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Japanese government officials said. Before leaving for Singapore, Abe told reporters in Tokyo International Airport at Haneda that Lee was a great leader who laid the foundation for prosperity in Asia and ASEAN. "I was always impressed by his candid attitude of not being afraid of having discussions," he said. The funeral for Lee, who died Monday at the age of 91, was held at National University of Singapore. Leaders of many countries attended the funeral, including Abe, South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott. Abe had contact with Park, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said. According to South Korea's Yonhap news agency, Abe approached Park at a reception after the funeral and they had a conversation. Park proposed that Japan, China and South Korea take necessary steps as agreed at a meeting of their foreign ministers in Seoul on March 21, Yonhap reported. The three foreign ministers agreed to make efforts to hold a trilateral summit meeting "at the earliest convenient time for the three countries." Abe expressed his gratitude to Park for the successful holding of the foreign ministers' meeting, saying he highly evaluates South Korea's role as the chair of the meeting, according to Yonhap. He also exchanged greetings with Abbott, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indonesian President Joko Widodo. Abe spent only about six hours in Singapore as he had to go back to Japan in time for parliamentary debate on a fiscal 2015 stopgap budget on Monday morning. He was the first incumbent Japanese prime minister to attend the funeral of a key foreign figure since Keizo Obuchi took part in the state funeral for Jordan's King Hussein in 1999. END