TOKYO: Japanese business leaders have expressed their grief over former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s death by shooting Friday.

Abe was “one of the most outstanding prime ministers since the start of the country’s constitutional government and a political leader we can proud of to the world,” Masakazu Tokura, chairman of the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren), said in a statement. “May he rest in peace,” Tokura added.

“I’m saddened and angered,” Kengo Sakurada, head of the Japan Association of Corporate executives (Keizai Doyukai), told reporters in the town of Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, central Japan, where he attended a summer seminar of the business lobby.

Abe was “the most influential leader among the Group of Seven major powers,” Sakurada said, particularly noting Abe’s achievements in the fields of economy and diplomacy.

“It is extremely painful that Abe passed away like this, because I had expected him to continue working for the country,” Akio Mimura, chief of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said in a statement.

“It is very sad that Abe fell victim to such an unreasonable act of violence,” said Fujio Mitarai, chairman and CEO of Canon Inc., who had close ties with the former prime minister. “I cannot help but feel extremely infuriated.”

“With his Abenomics policy, comprising the ‘three arrows’ of monetary easing, fiscal spending and growth strategy, Abe revved up the Japanese economy, attained sustainable economic recovery and greatly improved the employment situation,” Mitarai added.

With his strong leadership and Abenomics, Abe led Japan’s powerful recovery from the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that mainly hit the Tohoku northeastern region of the country, said Akio Toyoda, chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association and president of Toyota Motor Corp.

JIJI Press