TOKYO: Japan will spend US$1. 83 million on a state funeral for slain previous leader Shinzo Abe , the government stated on Friday (Aug 26), despite increasing opposition from a general public angered by revelations of the ruling party’s ties to the Unification Church.
Abe, Japan’s longest-serving but divisive leading, was shot plus killed at an political election rally on Jul 8, and although funeral services were held soon after, Japan has decided to hold a state funeral in Tokyo’s Nippon Budokan arena on Sep 27.
The government of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, an Abe protege, chose the state funeral will be paid for solely along with state funds.
But opinion polls show persistent resistance to the idea. Within the latest, published upon Sunday, 53 percent of respondents had been against a state funeral service.
The public has been angered by facts of ties between your ruling party and the Unification Church, which usually a vast majority of respondents to opinion polls feel has not been fully described and has become a major headache for Kishida, dragging down his support rates.
The church, created in South Korea in the 1950s and famous for its mass weddings, has over the years confronted questions over exactly how its solicits donations.
Abe’s thought assassin, arrested in the scene moments after the shooting, bore the grudge against the church, alleging it bankrupted his mother, and he blamed Abe pertaining to promoting it, based on his social media content and news reviews.