Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s state funeral has double and triple miso. Amid growing opposition from domestic public opinion, the opportunity for international condolence diplomacy, which the government enthusiastically described as “since the Emperor’s Funeral Ceremony” (a senior official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs), was almost the only significance, but the extraordinary history of the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. This is because it has clearly faded in the shadow of a major event. The motives and background of the assassination are different from the strong luck he had during his lifetime, and Mr. Abe has no luck after his death.
However, it is undeniable that Abe’s political style, which has been willing to divide public opinion since the time of his reign, has inevitably led to domestic public opinion opposing state funerals, which has increased day by day. The issue of the former Unification Church, which has swept the LDP, has also exposed the shadowy part of the legitimacy of the single-strength government of “six consecutive victories in national elections” that was created by a management method that does not resort to any means to achieve its goals. It is only natural that the former prime minister, who had the closest ties to a religious group that has even declared that the LDP will sever all ties with it, why a state funeral is being held. It was a regrettable miscalculation for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to face the day of the state funeral without clearing the two ties.
On the edge of the mountain, Mr. Hagiuda becomes a shackle
“Even though the prime minister insisted on doing a state funeral forcibly, the minuses outweighed the pluses, but there’s no point in regretting it. Government officials are desperate to turn scandal-driven politics back into policy-led mode. The driving force for this is two pillars: economy and defense.
First, in October, we will formulate new comprehensive economic measures and submit a supplementary budget for fiscal 2022, which includes the contents, to the extraordinary Diet session in the fall. At the same time, we will seamlessly add countermeasures against rising prices for each item and sector. The selection of a successor to BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, who is anticipating a rapid depreciation of the yen, is also positioned as a strong theme led by the prime minister’s office.
The revision of the three security-related documents toward the end of the year (National Security Strategy, National Defense Program Guidelines, and Medium-Term Defense Program) will include the content and budget for the drastic strengthening of defense capabilities. The focus will be on the scale and financial resources, but the government’s basic policy will be compiled at an expert panel to be set up in September.
Repositioning the focus of politics from scandals to policy debates is the royal road, but wholesalers are unlikely to do so. Daishiro Yamagiwa, minister in charge of economic revitalization, who is coordinating economic measures, and Koichi Hagiuda, chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party’s Policy Research Council, who is expected to play a role in coordinating the government, the LDP, and Komeito on defense issues, are facing the most serious suspicions about the issue of the former Unification Church. This is because the two people in the middle of the whirlwind must lead the two major policy issues, and they will be forced to make policy decisions while protecting Achilles.
Mr. Yamagiwa is believed to have been reappointed as a member of the direct lineage of former Secretary-General Akira Amari (Aso faction), who was a member of the party’s business and industry community, and who was indebted to Prime Minister Kishida in last year’s presidential election. Mr. Hagiuda was reassigned from the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry to the party’s three posts, expecting to become the center of the Abe faction after Mr. Abe’s death. I did not assume that the problem of the former Unification Church would continue to spread so far, but…
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