Prayers, floral offerings and elegies at the doors of the enclosure and inside; protests and discontent in the surrounding area. Nearly three months after his cold-blooded assassination, a divided Japan held a state funeral on Tuesday for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the most influential Japanese politician so far this century. A final act of farewell to which half the population was opposed and that has left the popularity of the Government of Fumio Kishida at a minimum.
Some 4,300 attendees gathered inside the Nippon Budokan stadium in the capital, including members of the Imperial House and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (PLD) or foreign leaders such as the vice president of the United States, Kamala Harris, or the prime ministers of India and Australia, Narendra Modi and Anthony Albanese respectively.
The ceremony began at 2:00 p.m. local time (5:00 GMT) when Abe’s widow, Akie, entered with the urn containing his ashes to the sound of a military band and the sound of cannon fire fired by the honor guard.
Inside, before a large portrait of the deceased and flower arrangements symbolizing the mountains of Japan, the national anthem was played and a minute of silence was observed before giving way to official speeches.
“People who miss you have come to pay their respects, but we can’t see you anymore, which is unfortunate and heartbreaking,” Prime Minister Kishida said. In his speech, he recalled his beginnings in politics, which coincided with Abe’s, and declared himself fortunate to have seen his evolution first-hand, which he hopes to follow from now on.
He also highlighted his work to raise the international profile of the country thanks to a diplomacy that improved relations with much of the world. “You were a person who should have lived much, much longer,” he added.
Near the venue, amid heavy security, thousands of people lined up to lay flowers at the commemorative booths set up so the public could honor Abe.
Protesters against the act also moved to the place, calling for the cancellation of both the funeral and the offerings. “Using our taxes for the funeral of a person like Abe is something I oppose,” one of them, Koji Sugihara, told the Efe news agency. For this afternoon there are several more demonstrations against the funeral and whose route will end near the pavilion where the act is held.
State funerals in Japan are generally reserved for members of the Imperial Household. Since the end of World War II, only one politician, Shigeru Yoshida, received this honor after his death in 1967 for leading the country’s post-war economic reconstruction.
Abe, who has died aged 67, is a much more divisive figure who had to contend during his two terms (2006-2007 and 2012-202) with economic stagnation, Chinese rise or a North Korean military threat. Among the main criticisms of his management are his policies with a marked nationalist tone -such as his calls to reform the post-war pacifist Constitution- or his apparent involvement in notorious cases of favor treatment and cronyism
Abe was shot in the middle of the street during an electoral act on July 8. His murderer, Tetsuya Yamagami, confessed to the authorities that his motivation for the assassination was the politician’s support for the controversial Unification Church, an anti-communist cult originating in South Korea, which he accuses of leaving his family in ruin. after accepting large donations from his mother.
Since then, the local press has revealed that half of the 379 PLD parliamentarians also maintain some kind of relationship with the group, provoking public outrage.
Four days after his murder, a private funeral was held in a Buddhist temple in Tokyo. Even so, Kishida decided to organize a new funeral financed by public coffers (about 12 million euros) to allow foreign representatives and citizens to pay tribute to Abe, which has generated notable rejection by the opposition and the people. Japanese.
Despite his collapse in the polls, Kishida did not want to back down and has tried to present the funeral as an opportunity for diplomacy in these troubled times. Among those most outstanding meetings are the one he held yesterday with the American Harris to strengthen his alliance or those today with the Indian Modi or the president of the European Council, Charles Michel.
“We must continue to work with the European Union and within the framework of international efforts towards a world free of nuclear weapons,” said the prime minister, who is from Hiroshima.
