Japan govt approves state funeral date for slain ex-PM Abe, plan sparks protests (updated)
22/07/2022 04:01
(Adds details, comments; recasts lead)
TOKYO, July 22 (Reuters) - The Japanese government said on
Friday it would hold a state funeral for former Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe on Sept. 27, amid street and social media protests
that the state shouldn't fund ceremonies for Japan's
longest-serving, but divisive, premier.
Abe, prime minister for more than eight years over two terms
and hugely influential in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party
(LDP) even after leaving office, was gunned down two weeks ago
at a campaign rally, an incident that deeply shocked Japan.
urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2YP04H
His funeral was held soon after, but the cabinet decided on
Friday that a state funeral will be held on Sept. 27 at the
Nippon Budokan in central Tokyo.
"We made this decision, as has been said before, due to
Abe's record as the longest-serving prime minister, during which
he exerted leadership skills distinctive from others and bore
heavy responsibility for dealing with a number of serious
domestic and international issues," chief cabinet secretary
Hirokazu Matsuno told a news conference on Friday.
The funeral will be fully paid for by state funds likely to
be taken from the budget reserve, he said.
The last state funeral for an ex-prime minister paid for
fully by state funds was in 1967, with successive funerals paid
for partly by the state and partly by the LDP.
The current plan has triggered growing disquiet. Around 200
people gathered near the PM's office in Tokyo to protest the
decision, according to the Kyodo news agency, and on social
media objections ranged from the use of taxpayer funds, to
complaints the government may seek to make political capital of
Abe's death and cement his legacy.
On Thursday, 50 people filed for an injunction in a Tokyo
court seeking a halt to the use of public funds for the event,
saying there should have been more discussion before making a
decision.
Only 49% supported the idea of a state funeral in a recent
public opinion poll by public broadcaster NHK, and the topic was
trending on social media on Friday.
On Twitter, a user with the handle 'Yuki no Imogai' posted,
"(Prime Minister Fumio) Kishida always bragged he listens to the
people, so why isn't he doing it now?"
Others contrasted the plan with the government response to
the COVID-19 pandemic, with new cases surging to record levels
in Japan this week. L1N2Z20KK
"Given they're doing next to nothing about the pandemic, how
did they manage to decide this so quickly?", posted Twitter user
'Heron'.
"Take the money you'll use for the funeral and do something
about the coronavirus."
(Reporting by Yoshifumi Takemoto and Elaine Lies; Writing by
Chang-Ran Kim and Elaine Lies; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)
((ran.kim@thomsonreuters.com; +81-3-4520-1228))