Abe awarded Australia's highest honor for service to bilateral ties

Australia on Wednesday awarded former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe its Honorary Companion of the Order of Australia, the country's highest honor, for his "eminent" contributions to the development of bilateral relations.The honor, awarded by Australia's Governor-General David Hurley, is typically reserved for its citizens but may be given to foreigners who have demonstrated extraordinary service to the country or humanity at large.Abe, Japan's longest-serving prime minister, formally agreed to receive the honorary appointment before he was fatally shot by a lone gunman while giving an…READ FULL ARTICLE