US praises former Japanese leader’s ‘great vision’, while Iran calls shooting an ‘act of terrorism’

From Washington to Tehran, Seoul to Kyiv, political leaders around the world have condemned the assassination of the former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, and paid tribute to the country’s longest-serving leader.

Abe was shot while campaigning for parliamentary elections, and died in hospital several hours later. The US president, Joe Biden, said he was “stunned, outraged and deeply saddened” by the killing. “This is a tragedy for Japan and for all who knew him,” he said. “Even at the moment he was attacked, he was engaged in the work of democracy.”