The funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, shot dead in July, will cost the state around 1.7 billion yen (12.1 million euros), it was announced on Tuesday.
The increase in the initial cost, estimated at almost 250 million yen (1.7 million euros), was due to security and reception expenses for representatives of more than 190 countries and territoriesincluding some 50 heads of state, Japanese government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno said.
Security costs were estimated at 800 million yen (5.6 million euros) and those of receiving foreign dignitaries at 600 million yen (4.2 million euros), it added.
Shortly after the assassination of Shinzo Abe, on July 8, during an electoral rally in Nara (west), the Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, announced his intention to organize a state funeral, scheduled for the 27th of this month, in Tokyo. .
Japan to hold state funeral for Shinzo Abe on September 27
However, such a tribute to a former prime minister has been rare in Japan since the postwar period.
Despite Shinzo Abe’s record longevity in power (2006-2007 and 2012-2020) and his intense international activity, the politician is highly controversial in Japan, his terms marred by numerous political and financial scandals.
According to a poll published Monday by the conservative daily Yomiuri, 56% of those surveyed were against the state funeral.
Some citizens oppose public funding of the ceremony, while others are against it because they believe it will lead people to glorify Shinzo Abe, a controversial figure on the Japanese nationalist right.
The suspected killer, Tetsuya Yamagami, claimed after his arrest that he had targeted the former prime minister for alleged links to the Unification Church, also known as the Moon cult.
The Kishida government’s popularity plummeted over the summer following revelations about alleged links between elected members of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Unification Church, in addition to the ongoing controversy over Shinzo Abe’s funeral.
Shinzo Abe, from family political nobility to half government victories
Source: Observadora
