Body of former Japanese PM Abe returns Tokyo home

A motorcade carrying the body of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has arrived at his home in Tokyo, reports BBC.

Abe was shot dead while speaking at a political campaign event on Friday morning in the southern city of Nara.

Police investigating the assassination have said the suspect held a grudge against a "specific organisation".

The alleged gunman, named as Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, believed Abe was part of it, they said.

Yamagami has admitted shooting him with a homemade gun, according to police.

As the hearse carrying Abe‍‍`s body arrived at his residence in Tokyo, members of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), dressed in black, lined up to pay their respects.

Current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is expected to visit this afternoon.

According to local media reports, a night vigil will be held on Monday and Abe‍‍`s funeral is due to take place on Tuesday.

Abe was Japan‍‍`s longest-serving prime minister and his death at the age of 67 has profoundly shocked a country where gun crime is very rare.

He was killed while campaigning for his party in the run-up to upper house parliamentary elections on Sunday.

Prime Minister Kishida, also an LDP member, said he was "simply speechless", vowing that Japan‍‍`s democracy would "never yield to violence".

He said the election campaign would continue on Saturday with tightened security, with Sunday‍‍`s vote still set to go ahead.