News Abe's controversial state funeral

One of the protesters, a 70-year-old homemaker who lives in Yokohama, told The Asahi Shimbun, "Prime Minister (Fumio) Kishida acted in a high-handed manner by suddenly coming up with the idea of holding a state funeral without any discussions, and then trying to force it through with just the approval of his Cabinet." She also criticized Kishida's announcement on 31 August that he plans to provide an explanation about the state funeral at a Diet session. "He felt like giving an explanation only after criticism became widespread," she said. "He is too inconsistent." A 17-year-old second-year high school student living in Nagareyama, Chiba Prefecture, found out through Twitter about the plan for the rally. It was the first time he took part in a protest. "I'm not convinced that as much as 250 million yen ($1.8 million) has to be spent on the state funeral when students are having a hard time amid the COVID-19 pandemic," he said. "Hashtags to show opposition to the state funeral are being shared on social media. I want Kishida to reconsider (the plan) and not ignore the (people's voices)."

Click to expand...

thomas said:

I agree. And let's face it: whenever things got tough, he just bailed out. This happened in both his tenures. I felt sorry for former PM Suga, who had to take over the unfortunate Olympic agenda.

I am afraid Kishida has painted himself into a corner: a cancellation would be a significant loss of face while holding the state funeral will be detrimental to the LDP.

Click to expand...

Lothor said:

I don't feel THAT sorry for Suga - he worked for many years as Abe's enforcer!

Click to expand...

urayama won bids to organize cherry blossom viewing parties for five straight years from 2015, according to government information. From 2017 to 2019, the company is believed to have held talks with the Cabinet Office before tendering a bid. The firm made a successful bid of 176 million ($1.25 million) for organizing the state funeral of Abe, Japan's longest-serving prime minister. Abe, who died at 67, served as prime minister for around one year from 2006 and again from 2012 to 2020. The government, meanwhile, has allocated 249 million yen of taxpayers' money for the state funeral, excluding expenditures for security and welcoming foreign dignitaries.

Click to expand...

thomas said:

Reuters and Kyodo have just reported that the government allocated 1.4 billion JPY for the state funeral to cover security costs and welcome foreign dignitaries.

Cost of Abe's state funeral to total over 1.6 bil. yen: Japan

The Japanese government said Tuesday it will allocate an additional 1.4 billion yen ($9.97 million) for the state funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to cover security costs and welcome foreign dignitaries, bringing the total price tag to over 1.6 billion yen.

english.kyodonews.net

Japan ex-PM Abe's state funeral to cost over $12 million

Click to expand...

But the government decided against the state funeral because there was no legal basis to justify holding such an event, Sadao Hirano, a former lawmaker familiar with the matter, told The Asahi Shimbun. According to Hirano, Ichiro Yoshikuni, chief of the Cabinet Legislation Bureau, the watchdog of laws, warned Takeo Miki, the prime minister at the time, not to hold the state funeral for Sato. Yoshikuni explained to Miki that Japan has no legal provisions to justify holding a state funeral and that performing one would require approval from the legislative, administrative and judicial branches of government, Hirano said. As a result, the Miki administration abandoned the idea for Sato's state funeral.

Click to expand...

Those handling security arrangements for the foreign dignitaries planning to attend initially wanted to release the names only about three days before the event. But at one of the committee meetings, Kishida named some of the leaders who plan to come: U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and European Council President Charles Michel. Kishida said he plans to hold meetings with as many foreign leaders as he can to demonstrate to the world his resolve to "carry on and develop the diplomatic legacy fostered by former Prime Minister Abe."

Click to expand...

thomas said:

I was hoping that Queen Elizabeth's (legitimate) state funeral would rain on Kishida's parade, but obviously, it doesn't. Contrary to conventions, he named the list of foreign dignitaries who would attend.

Kishida names world leaders attending Abe’s state funeral | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

Click to expand...

A vocational school student in his 20s expressed complete support for Abe's state funeral, saying, "He was a figure who was at the helm of Japan's government for a long time, and I think without him, the Japanese people would have been facing difficulties now. To be honest, I don't know why anyone would express disapproval."

Click to expand...

Meanwhile, an office worker in his 60s who was against the state funeral said, "He had many murky issues, including (the cronyism scandals involving) school operators Moritomo Gakuen and Kake Educational Institution. The decision should not be made by the Cabinet and should undergo public debate, and if Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says that he will not force people to offer condolences to Abe, then it should be completely unnecessary to hold a state funeral as well."

Click to expand...

The written opinion, which was passed on Sept. 12, will soon be mailed, addressed to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the speaker of the House of Representatives and the president of the House of Councillors. According to the secretariats of the upper and lower houses, the Hayama Municipal Assembly, also in Kanagawa Prefecture, has also mailed a written opinion opposing the state funeral. The Kamakura assembly's document points out, "It runs the risk of forcing the national government's evaluation of Abe upon the Japanese people, and suppressing their freedom to make their own decisions. We must not hold a state funeral that would divide the people."

Click to expand...

However, the municipal government will not force its employees to observe a moment of silence, out of respect for their individual intentions, and did not request its education board to fly flags at half-staff. Yokosuka and other municipalities in Kanagawa Prefecture set up places for people to sign books of condolences in mid-July after Abe was shot dead on July 8. The Yokosuka Municipal Government received mixed reviews over such a move at a public site.

Click to expand...

One high-ranking official in the prime minister's office said, "The state funeral is linked with the Unification Church issue so there is nothing more the government can do." An executive with Komeito, the junior coalition partner, said, "There are absolutely no factors that could contribute to increasing the approval rating. All the things (Prime Minister Kishida) thought might help have backfired." An LDP executive said, "It will become serious if the rating continues to fall, so we will have to find some way to turn it around." Coalition officials were also saying the Kishida administration was not adequately sharing information about what it planned to do.

Click to expand...

And the LDP faction led by Abe remains rudderless, so there is no obvious movement within the party to seek a replacement for Kishida.

Click to expand...

According to the organizers, around 13,000 people gathered at Yoyogi Park in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward despite the heavy rain and wind from Typhoon No. 14. Demonstrators at the rally raised placards and banners that read, "No State Funeral." The protesters then marched in two courses through the streets around the park. The rally was organized by a group called "Senso Sasenai, 9-jo Kowasuna! Sogakari Kodo Jikko Iinkai" (We will not let war occur. Don't destroy Article 9! The committee for all-out actions) and "Sayonara Genpatsu 10,000,000 Nin Action Jikko Iinkai" (The executive committee for 10 million people's action to say goodbye to nuclear power plants). Lawmakers from opposition parties, including the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Japanese Communist Party, as well as writer Keiko Ochiai, joined the calls for the cancellation of Abe's state funeral.

Click to expand...

Lothor said:

Not a very catchy name for a protest group! Still, very heartening news. If you hear of any other events, can you post them?

Click to expand...

He suffered burns over his entire body but remains conscious and in stable condition at a hospital, they said. According to the Metropolitan Police Department, a pedestrian reported a "man in flames" on a street near the prime minister's office in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward around 6:50 a.m. on Sept. 21. The Tokyo Fire Department said a police officer who was trying to extinguish the fire suffered a burn on the right arm. At the scene, police found a handwritten letter that said, "As an individual, I vehemently oppose the state funeral." According to the Kojimachi Police Station and other sources, the man told investigators, "I poured fuel all over me and set myself on fire." The planned state funeral for Sept. 27 at Nippon Budokan Hall in Tokyo has come under increasing public criticism.

Click to expand...

Lothor said:

Nevertheless, I'm sure plenty of Japanese people will be noting the contrast between a state funeral for someone with 70 years of exemplary service and one for a person whose tenure was associated with mediocrity, authoritarianism, and corruption.

Click to expand...

"It's not clear whether Mr. Abe's achievements are deserving of a state funeral. Since more than half of the public oppose it, forcing the event will further divide the nation," Murakami said. He added, "It is disturbing that no LDP members are speaking out on this matter." Prime Minister Fumio Kishida decided to go ahead with the state funeral, citing Abe's longevity as Japan's leader and his achievements in diplomacy and economics. Criticism within the party against the state funeral could result in a backlash from Kishida and the faction previously led by Abe, the largest in the LDP. Murakami, however, has long been known as a harsh critic of Abe. "Some people see Mr. Abe as a leader who battered Japan's finances and diplomacy and destroyed its bureaucracy," Murakami told reporters on Sept. 20. "He should bear a heavy responsibility for that."

Click to expand...