The state funeral for assassinated ex-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has begun in the Japanese capital. Abe’s widow Akie, dressed in a black kimono, carried her husband’s ashes to the Budokan Hall in Tokyo. Thousands of mourners have gathered in the building, which is usually used for sporting events and concerts. The mourners took their places in front of a large portrait of the murdered former prime minister wearing black ribbons. A 19-gun salute was fired in Abe’s honor.
Akie Abe mourns her late husband
The ceremony took place under tight security. Around 20,000 police officers are on duty. 48 current and former heads of state and government from abroad are invited to the state funeral, including the heads of government of India and Australia, Narendra Modi and Anthony Albanese, as well as US Vice President Kamala Harris. Germany is represented by former Federal President Christian Wulff.
Thousands of people lined up outside the Budokan Hall to lay flowers for Abe and say a prayer for the late politician. “I wanted to thank him. He has done so much for Japan,” said 46-year-old Koji Takamori.
Citizens bid farewell to Shinzo Abe near Budokan Hall in Tokyo
Hatred of Mun sect
The 67-year-old was shot dead on July 8 while campaigning in the western Japanese city of Nara. A few hours later, the longtime head of government was pronounced dead in the hospital. The assassin claimed to have murdered the right-wing conservative politician out of hatred for the controversial Mun sect. Abe was in contact with them. The Mun sect, known for its conservative and anti-communist sentiment, drove his mother to financial ruin and destroyed the family.
Abe is the longest-serving prime minister in Japan. Although he is regarded worldwide as a deserving statesman, Abe was controversial among his own people with his nationalist agenda and several scandals about nepotism.
controversial debate
The act of violence had shaken Japan badly. The decision to host Abe, only the second state funeral for a former leader since the end of World War II, was controversial. According to surveys, about 60 percent of Japanese are against it. Thousands of citizens demonstrated in advance against the state funeral. Most recently, in 1967, former Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida was buried with full honors in Budokan.
Young demonstrators protest in Tokyo against a state funeral for Abe
The killing sparked a spate of revelations about links between the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Mun sect. The incumbent prime minister, Fumio Kishida, had already apologized and announced that he wanted to cut ties between his party and the church. However, the main reason for opposition to the state funeral is the cost of $11.5 million.
kle/sti (afp, dpa, rtr)
