(NEWSnet) — U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris met with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio on Monday shortly after arriving in Tokyo for the state funeral of his predecessor, Shinzo Abe.

Abe, who was assassinated in July, will be honored on Tuesday, and Harris is leading a U.S. delegation to pay respects.

Harris said the alliance between Japan and the United States is a cornerstone of peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.

Harris, who is scheduled to spend three nights in Tokyo, is visiting at a politically fraught moment.

Kishida's decision to hold a state funeral for Abe, a conservative nationalist, has been controversial in a country where such memorials are uncommon, and some oppose honoring him in this way.