Gallery
Photographs of Shinzo Abe through the Years
Abe, far left, stands with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, center, and other members of the general council of the Liberal Democratic Party in 2003. Koizumi had just won re-election as president of the ruling party and had filled several key party positions. Shizuo Kambayashi/AP
Abe, as secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, addresses reporters outside the White House after meeting with then-US National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice in 2004. Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty Images
Abe bows to applause from lawmakers of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party after winning the party’s presidential election in 2006. He would become Japan’s prime minister, succeeding Koizumi. Tatsuyuki Tayama/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images
Abe bows to applause from lawmakers of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party after winning the party’s presidential election in 2006. He would become Japan’s prime minister, succeeding Koizumi. Tatsuyuki Tayama/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images
Abe settles into his party’s presidential seat in 2006 after succeeding Koizumi as Japan’s prime minister. Pool Interagences/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images
Abe meets with other world leaders at a G8 summit in Germany in 2007. 2007 Christian Irrgang / Agentur Focus/Redux
Abe started a second term as prime minister in 2012. Here, he poses for photos with new cabinet members at his official residence in Tokyo. The Asahi Shimbun/Getty Images
Abe stands up after being re-elected in 2014. Kyodo/AP
Abe and his wife, Akie, attend a tea ceremony presentation at the World Assembly for Women conference in Tokyo in 2015. Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP/Getty Images
Abe addresses a joint session of the US Congress in 2015. Yin Bogu/Xinhua News Agency/eyevine/Redux
Abe takes part in the closing ceremony of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Tokyo would be hosting the next Summer Olympics. Marcelo Correia/Camera Press/Redux
Abe stands in front of the Japanese flag after the Liberal Democratic Party’s annual convention in 2017. Toru Hanai/Reuters
Abe delivers remarks at the UN General Assembly in New York in 2018. Dave Sanders/The New York Times/Redux
Abe waves from a car window as he leaves a campaign event for the Liberal Democratic Party in Ise, Japan, in 2021. He continued to campaign for his party’s candidates until his assassination in July 2022. Jinhee Lee/NurPhoto/Getty Images
Abe makes a street speech for party candidates in Nara, Japan, before he was shot on Friday, July 8. The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images