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Japan holds controversial funeral for former prime minister Shinzo Abe

Japan bid farewell to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at an elaborate state funeral on Tuesday, despite public opposition to the cost of the event, as the country grapples with the legacy of its late leader.

Abe, the country’s longest-serving prime minister, was shot dead during a campaign speech in Nara in July, surprising a nation where gun violence is extremely rare.

More than 4,300 guests attended the service at Tokyo’s Nippon Budokan Arena, including foreign dignitaries such as US Vice President Kamala Harris, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Abe’s ashes were taken to the site, where the government made a video honoring his life and career. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida then delivered a memorial speech, praising Abe’s “courage” and dedication.

Other government figures, including former prime minister Yoshihide Suga – who was Abe’s right-hand man for many years – also made comments, before attendees made offerings of flowers and bowing.

Other ceremonial rites on the program include an honor guard, gun salute and musical performances, before a government reception for visiting foreign dignitaries.

Police increased security for the event, with public broadcaster NHK reporting that around 20,000 police had been deployed to keep the peace. But fights broke out anyway between police and protesters outside the funeral site.

Divisions on the legacy

On Tuesday morning, crowds lined up outside designated memorials to drop flowers and pay their last respects to Abe, who dominated Japanese politics for a generation.

But as they mourned, thousands more took to the streets in anti-funeral protests in Tokyo, illustrating a deep public division in the occasion, Japan’s first state funeral for a Japanese leader since 1967.

Some crowds chanted slogans as they marched near the funeral site, waving banners calling for a halt to proceedings. Protest leaders rallied the crowd over loudspeakers, and a van drove by with music blasting from a boom box.

The protests at times became tense, with several loud clashes and fights between protesters and police.

Abe’s death sent shockwaves through Japan and the international community, with thousands of people flocking to Tokyo in July when his private funeral took place. But in the months following his murder, the expression of regret gave way to growing discontent.

Abe’s state funeral comes as the country grapples with rising inflation and anger stemming from revelations that half of Japan’s ruling party had ties to the controversial Unification Church, which has faced criticism over fundraising practices. .

Some critics also pointed to Abe’s more unpopular policies while in office as a reason for the mood swing and questioned why so much taxpayer money is going to the state funeral — which will cost an estimated $12 million (1.66 million dollars). billion yen) — at a time of acute economic stress.

“It was a tragedy that Abe was shot dead and lost his life, but we must not make him a hero of this tragedy,” one protester, Shinsaku Nohira, told CNN at a recent anti-state funeral rally outside Japan’s parliament.

“At least half of Japan’s population is against this state funeral, so I don’t want government messages to get out, I want people to know that there are citizens in Japan who are opposed to this event.”

An NHK opinion poll in early September showed that 57% of respondents opposed the state funeral, compared with 32% who supported it — and the rest said they didn’t know or refused to respond.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida tried to appease the public, saying a state funeral for Abe was “appropriate” for his achievements as a former leader. The ceremony is not intended to “force people to mourn” or become a “political issue,” he said in August.

The possession and murder of Abe

Abe held the post for two separate terms, during which he transformed Japan’s security posture, raising questions about the country’s status as a peace-loving nation, and passed key security legislation in 2015 that expanded what Japan could do militarily. to support the US.

He was also a prominent figure on the world stage, cultivating strong ties with Washington and seeking better relations with Beijing — all the while trying to stem Chinese expansion into the region by uniting Pacific allies.

One of his latest successes in office was securing the 2020 Tokyo Olympics — although the Covid-19 pandemic forced the competition to be postponed to 2021.

After leaving office in 2020, citing health reasons, Abe remained active in politics, often campaigning for his party — which is what he was doing at the time of his assassination.

NHK reported in July that the alleged gunman, Tetsuya Yamagami, had targeted the former prime minister because he believed Abe’s grandfather — another former Japanese leader — had aided the expansion of a religious group he held a grudge against. .

THE CNN could not independently confirm which group the Yamagami was referring to, or links between Abe and any group the suspect harbored hatred for.

But the murder caused a backlash against the Unification Church, which said Yamagami’s mother was a member who attended church events, although Yamagami himself was never a member.

It also said that the church received a message of support from Abe at an event it hosted, but that the former prime minister was not a registered member of the church, nor was he on its advisory board.

Source: CNN Brasil

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