TOKYO: The Japanese government decided Monday to honor former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was shot dead on Friday, with the Collar of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum, the country’s highest decoration.

He will become the fourth person who served as Japan’s prime minister to receive the decoration in the post-World War II period, following Shigeru Yoshida, Eisaku Sato and Yasuhiro Nakasone. All of them received the decoration posthumously.

Abe will also be given the “juichii” junior first rank and the Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum.

The government decided to grant Abe the awards “in recognition of his career and accomplishments of many years,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a press conference on Monday.

Abe, as the country’s prime minister, worked hard on diplomacy, notably with the United States, as well as on economic and security policies, and he also had achievements as a long-serving Diet member, Matsuno said.

JIJI Press