U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Japan to express his condolences over the death of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was shot while delivering a speech on a street in Nara, the State Department said Sunday.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is planning to meet with Blinken on Monday, a Japanese government official said.

Blinken, who is visiting Bangkok, will change his schedule and stop in Japan before returning to the United States.

Abe, Japan's longest-serving prime minister who left office in 2020, was fatally shot Friday by a 41-year-old man who approached from behind while Abe was delivering a stump speech on a street in the western city ahead of Sunday's House of Councillors election.

On Saturday, President Joe Biden spoke by phone with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, expressing his condolences over the death of Abe.

Biden noted the "unwavering confidence in the strength of Japan's democracy" and the two leaders also discussed how Abe's legacy will live on as their countries continue the important task of defending peace and democracy, according to the White House.

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