Gallery
Photographs of Shinzo Abe through the Years
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Abe settles into his party’s presidential seat in 2006 after succeeding Koizumi as Japan’s prime minister. Pool Interagences/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images
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Abe meets with other world leaders at a G8 summit in Germany in 2007. 2007 Christian Irrgang / Agentur Focus/Redux
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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
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Abe stands up after being re-elected in 2014. Kyodo/AP
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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
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Abe addresses a joint session of the US Congress in 2015. Yin Bogu/Xinhua News Agency/eyevine/Redux
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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
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Abe stands in front of the Japanese flag after the Liberal Democratic Party’s annual convention in 2017. Toru Hanai/Reuters
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Abe delivers remarks at the UN General Assembly in New York in 2018. Dave Sanders/The New York Times/Redux
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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
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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