WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Japan to offer condolences over the death of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe by changing the schedule of his ongoing Southeast Asian tour, Department of State spokesperson Ned Price said Saturday.

Blinken will leave Bangkok on Sunday night and is expected to arrive in Japan on Monday.

The secretary will “travel to Tokyo, Japan, to offer condolences to the Japanese people” on the death of Abe, Price said in a statement, adding that Blinken is slated to meet with senior Japanese officials during the stay in the capital.

“The US-Japan alliance is the cornerstone of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific and has never been stronger,” Price said.

Blinken is visiting Thailand after attending a meeting of foreign ministers from the Group of 20 advanced and emerging economies in Bali, Indonesia. He was initially slated to leave Thailand Sunday for home, but changed the schedule after hearing the news on the passing of Abe.

Abe was shot to death Friday while delivering an election campaign speech in the western Japan city of Nara.

The shooting of Abe sent shockwaves also through the US government.

In a telephone conversation with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held after the incident, US President Joe Biden commended Abe’s achievements, saying that he left major footprints in deepening US-Japan relations.

By sending Blinken to Japan early following the death of Abe, Biden apparently aims to demonstrate the United States’ stance of attaching importance to its alliance with Japan.

JIJI Press