Opinion polls show a majority of Japanese oppose holding a state funeral for the longest-serving prime minister.
The government said Japan would spend $1.83 million on a state funeral for the slain former leader Shinzo Abe, despite growing opposition from the public angered by revelations about the relationship. the ruling party’s relationship with the Unification Church.
Abe, Japan’s longest-serving but divisive prime minister, was shot dead at an election rally on July 8and although funeral services were held soon after, Japan decided to hold a state funeral at the Nippon Budokan, Tokyo on September 27.
The government of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, a supporter of Abe, has decided that state funerals will be covered entirely with state funds and confirmed the estimated cost on Friday.
But opinion polls show persistent opposition to the idea. In the latest report, released on Sunday, 53% of respondents opposed state funerals.
The public has expressed anger at revelations about the relationship between the ruling party and the Unification Church, which the majority of opinion poll respondents feel has not been fully explained and has become headache for Kishida, dragging his approval ratings down.
The church, founded in South Korea in the 1950s and famous for its mass weddings, has for years faced questions about how to raise donations.
The suspect is Abe’s assassin, arrested at the scene after the shooting, has a grudge against the church, claiming that the church has bankrupted his mother. According to his social media posts and news reports, he blamed Abe for promoting it.
The man is undergoing a psychiatric evaluation, media reported.
The last state-funded funeral for a prime minister was for Shigeru Yoshida in 1967. Subsequent funerals have been held by both the state and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), of which Abe was a member. Influential members, lo.
A number of current and former world leaders are expected to attend, with news reports saying deals have been made for former US President Barack Obama to join.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend, the Kremlin said in July.
