People line up to place flowers at a makeshift memorial outside Yamato-Saidaiji Station, where former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was shot on July 8, in Nara on July 9, 2022. (PHILIP FONG / AFP)

NARA/TOKYO - A motorcade carrying the body of former prime minister Shinzo Abe arrived at his home in the Japanese capital on Saturday, a day after he was assassinated by a lone gunman in a rare act of political violence that has shocked the country.

Mourners gathered at his residence and at the scene of Friday's attack in the western city of Nara, where Japan's longest-serving modern leader was gunned down while making a campaign speech, a murder decried by the political establishment as an attack on democracy itself.

A woman reacts in front of a makeshift memorial where people place flowers at the scene outside Yamato-Saidaiji Station in Nara where former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was shot earlier in the day on July 8, 2022. (PHILIP FONG / AFP)

A metal detector, not normally seen at election events in largely crime-free Japan, was installed at a site in Fujiyoshida city where Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was due to give a campaign speech. There was also a heavy police presence

Authorities are reviewing security arrangements at the event where Abe was shot from close range by a 41-year-old unemployed man armed with a homemade gun. Police say the man held a grudge against Abe.

Elections for seats in Japan's upper house of parliament are going ahead as scheduled on Sunday.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was back on the campaign trail visiting regional constituencies after making an emergency return to Tokyo on Friday after the shooting.

A metal detector, not normally seen at election events in largely crime-free Japan, was installed at a site in Fujiyoshida city where Kishida was due to give a campaign speech. There was also a heavy police presence.

ALSO READ: Japan ex-PM Shinzo Abe dies after being shot at poll campaign

In Nara, some 450 km southwest of Tokyo, a stream of people queued up to lay flowers on a table, that also held a photograph of Abe.

"I'm just shocked that this kind of thing happened in Nara," Natsumi Niwa, a 50-year-old housewife, said after offering her flowers, with her 10-year-old son, near the scene of the killing outside a downtown train station.

People pay their respects in front of a makeshift memorial outside Yamato-Saidaiji Station, where former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was shot earlier in the day, in Nara on July 8, 2022. (PHILIP FONG / AFP)

A night vigil will be held on Monday. Former prime minister Shinzo Abe's funeral will take place on Tuesday, attended by close friends, media said. There was no immediate word on any public memorial service

Niwa explained how Abe, a conservative and architect of the "Abenomics" policies aimed at reflating the economy, had inspired the name of her son, Masakuni. Abe used to hail Japan as a "beautiful nation". "Kuni" means nation in Japanese.

A night vigil will be held on Monday. Abe's funeral will take place on Tuesday, attended by close friends, media said. There was no immediate word on any public memorial service.

Police are scrambling to establish details of the motive and method of Abe's killer.

The suspect, Tetsuya Yamagami, arrested immediately after the attack, told police he believed Abe was linked to a religious group he blamed for ruining his mother financially and breaking up the family, media reported, citing police sources.

Police have not identified the group.

ALSO READ: Abe sought to revive Japan with bold policies, strong forces

People line up to place flowers at a makeshift memorial outside Yamato-Saidaiji Station, where former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was shot on July 8, in Nara on July 9, 2022. (PHILIP FONG / AFP)

The man told investigators he had also visited other spots where Abe had made campaign appearances, including in the city of Okayama, more than 200 km from Nara, media reported.

Big election turnout expected

Sunday's election is expected to deliver victory to the ruling coalition led by Kishida, an Abe protege.

A man prays in front of a makeshift memorial at the scene where former prime minister Shinzo Abe was shot while delivering his speech to support the Liberal Democratic Party's candidate during an election campaign in Nara, western Japan on July 8, 2022. (HIRO KOMAE / AP)

Kishida visited Abe's residence in Tokyo to pay his respects on Saturday, the Kyodo news agency reported, alongside mourners clutching flowers and party officials who bowed as the hearse carrying his body arrived

Abe's killing "heightens the prospect for stronger turnout and greater support for his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)", Eurasia Group analysts wrote in a note.

The LDP, where Abe retained considerable influence, had already been expected to gain seats before the assassination. Abe, 67, served twice as prime minister, stepping down citing ill health on both occasions.

ALSO READ: Shinzo Abe's assassin used a handmade firearm

But he remained a member of parliament and influential leader in the LDP after stepping down for the second time in 2020.

A strong election performance by the LDP "could catalyse Kishida to push for Abe's unfulfilled goal of amending Japan's constitution to allow for a stronger role for the military", James Brady, vice-president at advisory firm Teneo, wrote in a note.

Kishida visited Abe's residence in Tokyo to pay his respects on Saturday, the Kyodo news agency reported, alongside mourners clutching flowers and party officials who bowed as the hearse carrying his body arrived.

A hearse transporting the body of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe arrives at his residence in Tokyo on July 9, 2022. (KAZUHIRO NOGI / AFP)

Abe's death has drawn condolences from across political divides, and from around the world.

The Quad, a group of countries in which Abe was key in setting up, expressed shock at the assassination in a joint statement.

"We will honor Prime Minister Abe's memory by redoubling our work towards a peaceful and prosperous region," said the group which includes Japan, India, Australia and the United States.

READ MORE: Xi extends condolences over passing of Abe

President Xi Jinping also paid tribute to Abe who he said worked hard to improve relations between the neighbors, Chinese state media reported.