Why Abe’s state funeral has provoked anger in Japan

International

-DW News

Tokyo,
Sep
26:
The
Japanese
government’s
decision
to
go
ahead
with
Tuesday’s
state
funeral
for
former
Prime
Minister
Shinzo
Abe,
who
was
assassinated
on
July
8
while
campaigning
for
an
upcoming
election,
has
caused
as
much
controversy
as
Abe
did
himself
during
his
decades
in
politics.

Among
the
more
than
6,000
guests
invited
to
attend
the
service
—
which
will
take
place
at
central
Tokyo’s
Nippon
Budokan
arena
—
are
US
Vice
President
Kamala
Harris,
French
President
Emmanuel
Macron
as
well
as
the
leaders
of
Australia,
India,
Vietnam,
Cambodia
and
Singapore,
among
dozens
of
heads
of
state.

Japan
split
over
state
funeral

A
private
funeral
was
held
in
July
for
Abe’s
family
and
close
associates
at
a
Tokyo
temple.

Tuesday’s
event
will
show
that
“Japan
will
not
give
in
to
violence
and
is
determined
to
protect
democracy,”
Japanese
Prime
Minister
Fumio
Kishida
told
reporters.

Japan:
Police
chief
to
resign
over
failure
to
protect
Abe

However,
the
decision
to
hold
a
state
funeral
has
attracted
widespread
criticism
—
both
over
the
cost
involved
and
the
claims
by
some
that
they
are
effectively
being
forced
to
mourn
a
leader
whose
policies
they
opposed.

The
anger
is
so
severe
in
some
parts
of
society
that
a
man
in
his
70s
attempted
to
commit
suicide
outside
the
prime
minister’s
office
in
Tokyo
on
Wednesday
by
pouring
a
flammable
liquid
over
himself
and
setting
it
on
fire.
He
is
being
treated
at
a
hospital.

Skyrocketing
costs

The
original
cost
of
the
state
funeral
was
put
at
a
modest
250
million
yen
(€1.74
million),
but
that
soon
ballooned
to
1.65
billion
yen.
Officials
admitted
that
providing
police
and
security
will
cost
an
additional
800
million
yen,
while
hosting
foreign
leaders
will
add
an
extra
600
million
yen
to
the
total
bill.

There
was
initially
widespread
anger
and
shock
at
the
death
of
Abe
after
he
was
shot
on
a
street
corner
in
the
city
of
Nara
by
a
man
angry
about
the
influence
that
the
Unification
Church
wielded
over
Japanese
politics.

However,
polls
show
many
people
are
against
holding
a
state
funeral
for
Abe,
which
would
be
the
first
since
Shigeru
Yoshida,
Japan’s
first
post-war
prime
minister,
was
accorded
the
honor
in
1967.

In
a
recent
poll
by
the

Yomiuri
Shimbun
newspaper,
56%
of
people
said
they
opposed
a
state
funeral
for
Abe,
with
only
38%
in
support.

Japan
bids
farewell
to
Shinzo
Abe,
its
longest-serving
PM

The
government
has
even
faced
a
number
of
legal
challenges,
with
the
Tokyo
District
Court
dismissing
on
September
9
a
petition
demanding
the
funeral
be
blocked.

‘Obligation’ to
mourn
Abe?

Nearly
600
citizens
sued
the
government
on
the
grounds
that
a
state
funeral
of
a
former
prime
minister
would
be
a
breach
of
the
constitution
and
that
it
would
“oblige
the
public
”
to
mourn
the
death
of
Abe.

The
court
dismissed
the
petition,
arguing
there
is
no
legal
basis
for
permitting
a
formal
request
to
block
the
implementation
of
state
spending
for
a
funeral.

Other
similar
lawsuits
were
also
rejected.

And
while
politicians
from
Abe’s
Liberal
Democratic
Party
(LDP),
its
coalition
ally
Komeito,
Nippon
Ishin
and
the
Democratic
Party
for
the
People
will
be
at
the
Budokan,
many
opposition
politicians
have
declared
that
they
will
not
attend
the
ceremony.

No
representatives
of
The
Constitutional
Democratic
Party
of
Japan
(CDPJ),
the
Japanese
Communist
Party,
the
Social
Democratic
Party
or
Reiwa
Shinsengumi
will
be
present.

“The
state
funeral
is
being
forcibly
held
at
the
Cabinet’s
own
discretion,
CDPJ
President
Kenta
Izumi
said.
“It
is
no
wonder
that
many
people
feel
uncomfortable,
doubtful
and
opposed.”

Kazuo
Shii,
the
chairman
of
the
Japanese
Communist
Party
(JCP),
said
in
a
Twitter
post
on
Tuesday
that
he
found
himself
unable
to
pay
his
respects
to
the
former
leader
because
he
felt
he
was
being
“forced”
to
do
so
by
the
government’s
decision.

Shinzo
Abe
death:
A
look
at
Japan’s
stringent
gun
laws

Ken
Kato,
a
businessman
from
Tokyo
and
a
member
of
the
LDP,
said
the
criticism
of
the
decision
to
go
ahead
with
the
funeral
made
him
“very
angry
and
disappointed.”

“I
am
sure
that
many
ordinary
people
want
to
be
able
to
pay
their
respects
to
Abe
and
although
we
will
not
be
able
to
enter
the
Budokan,
I
will
be
among
those
who
will
bring
flowers
and
make
offerings
on
the
day,” he
told
DW.

“Personally,
I
do
not
understand
why
so
many
people
are
opposed
to
an
official
funeral
or
paying
respects
to
a
leader
who
was
killed
while
he
was
doing
his
job
for
the
nation,”
Kato
said.

“In
Japanese
culture,
we
pay
our
respects
to
other
people
when
they
die,
even
if
they
were
a
rival
in
business
or
politics.
It’s
the
correct
thing
to
do.
It’s
a
sign
of
respect
and
a
mark
of
our
culture.”

Kato
added
that
Abe
would
be
remembered
in

Japan
and
beyond
as
a
strong
leader
who
stood
up
to
an
aggressively
expansionist
China,
united
the
nations
of
the
Asia-Pacific
region
and
forged
alliances
with
the
aim
of
protecting
“free
and
open
“trade
and
the
rule
of
international
law.

Others,
however,
said
they
were
unlikely
to
even
bother
to
watch
the
event
on
television.

Tokyo
resident
Hiromi
Iuchi,
told
DW
she
intends
to
avoid
the
center
of
the
city
on
the
day
of
the
funeral.

“I
am
just
not
interested
in
taking
part
in
being
there,”she
said.
“I
think
it
has
all
become
terribly
politicized
and
it
is
turning
into
an
opportunity
for
politicians
to
score
points
against
each
other.”

Shinzo
Abe
set
out
a
bold
vision
for
India-Japan
partnership

Iuchi
said
it
was
too
late
to
cancel
the
event
now
and
that
any
remaining
legal
challenges
should
be
dropped
as
it
would
be
“impossible”
for
the
government
to
not
go
ahead
at
this
late
stage
as
it
would
cause
embarrassment
on
the
global
stage.

“Most
people
are
worried
about
rising
prices
and
their
falling
spending
power
at
the
moment,”
she
pointed
out.
“The
funeral
is
going
to
cost
money,
but
it’s
not
a
huge
amount.
I
do
wish
that
the
politicians
would
think
more
about
the
ordinary
people,
though.”

Source: DW