With flowers, prayers and 19 salutes, Japan on Tuesday honored former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the first state funeral for a former prime minister in 55 years, in a ceremony as divisive as he was in his life. The authorities are trying to avoid any security shortcomings Similar to what happened in his assassination last July.
The ceremony began in the morning, when his widow, Aki, carried Abe’s ashes to the Nippon Budokan Hall in central Tokyo, to the sound of music from a military band and the salute of the guard of honor.
Inside the hall, a large picture of Abe wrapped in black ribbon hung above a bouquet of green, white and yellow flowers, and nearby a wall of pictures showing Abe with the leaders of the Group of Seven, shaking hands with children and visiting disaster areas.
From Shinzo Abe’s funeral
From Shinzo Abe’s funeral
From Shinzo Abe’s funeral
The funeral became the country’s first state funeral since 1967. The SDF artillery unit fired 19 blank rounds of 105mm howitzers while an urn with Abe’s ashes was transported to the Nippon Budokan Center Hall where the ceremony was being held. On behalf of the Government, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno opened the funeral service, followed by a minute of silence.
From Shinzo Abe’s funeral
From Shinzo Abe’s funeral
Late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
The funeral service, attended by dozens of foreign dignitaries, will be held at the Nippon Budokan Hall in central Tokyo. And theThe high cost of the funeral drew sharp criticism from the public.
Abe was assassinated by a man carrying a homemade weapon who shot him at close range during an election campaign in the western city of Nara. This shocked Japan, which rarely sees violent crime and where notable figures tend to move around with little escort.
The Japanese authorities, as well as Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, The existence of security failures that contributed to the death of Abe. With dozens of foreign dignitaries expected to attend the funeral at the Nippon Budokan hall in central Tokyo, it does not appear that officials will risk any chance of another security shortcoming.
The authorities closed the roads surrounding the funeral site, and imposed restrictions on the airspace within a range of about 46 kilometers from the site until tomorrow, Wednesday.
And local media reported that Japan is applying the maximum levels of insurance, as tens of thousands of police officers are deployed to enhance security measures in the capital, Tokyo, including about 2,500 who will come from across the country.
Police officers with trained dogs have reportedly been ramping up anti-terror patrols at major railway stations and Tokyo’s Haneda Airport over the past few days.
These reports added that the police are organizing highway patrols in search of any suspicious items and inspecting areas around embassies and hotels where foreign guests will be.
About 700 foreign guests arrived in Japan for the funeral, including about 50 current or former leaders.
Other dignitaries include US Vice President Kamala Harris, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, and European Council President Charles Michel. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau canceled his attendance to focus on efforts to deal with the aftermath of a powerful storm that hit the country’s east coast.
More than 1,000 soldiers from the Japanese army are deployed for the funeral, with 4,300 guests expected. The guard of honor fires 19 empty shells in honor of Abe, and a military band will play music.
The Japanese government spends 1.65 billion yen (11.5 million dollars) on the funeral, including 800 million yen for securing the ceremony and 600 million yen for hosting foreign delegations. The high cost of the funeral drew sharp criticism from the public, as the funding comes from taxpayers’ money at a time when many are experiencing economic hardship.