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M. Kajikuri: Address to Summit 2022, Session III
Written by Masayoshi Kajikuri, chairman, UPF-Japan
Friday, August 12, 2022
Address to Summit 2022 and Leadership Conference,
Seoul, Korea, August 11-15, 2022
The following submission by Mr. Kajikuri is included here with the presentations but was not delivered during the session due to time constraints.
Distinguished leaders from all over the world, Ambassadors for Peace, ladies and gentlemen.
Thank you for participating in the International Leadership Conference, sponsored by Universal Peace Federation (UPF) International.
On behalf of UPF-Japan, I would like to make a statement in honor of the life and legacy of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. I would like to begin by expressing my deepest condolences to the former Prime Minister.
Also, I would like to thank UPF International and the many good men and women from around the world who have offered their sincere and heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of Prime Minister Abe, and to the people of Japan.
Words cannot adequately describe my sadness upon learning of the brutal assassination of Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, a statesman admired and loved throughout Japan and the world.
His achievements as a political leader are well-established, going back to the rebuilding period of postwar Japan. In the modern era, he has greatly enhanced Japan’s standing in the international community, and in doing so, he has left a legacy of goodness and greatness that will never be forgotten.
The loss of former Prime Minister Abe at this time of global turmoil is a great loss for Japan and for world peace. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to him for his tremendous contribution to the realization of world peace.
After the tragic incident of July 8, I was surprised to learn that the motive of the assassin, Tetsuya Yamagami, was connected to a video message former Prime Minister Abe had sent supporting the “Think Tank 2022 Rally of Hope” hosted by UPF International last September.
If this is the case, it is unthinkable and beyond our comprehension. How truly regrettable and tragic it is. Whatever his motive may have been, his was a crime that has absolutely no justification.
We will always remember Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as he was in his glorious days; and we pray that he may rest in peace.
Thank you very much.
To go to the World Summit 2022 Schedule page, click here.