Posted on Sep 27, 2022
Japan holds a controversial state funeral for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
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https://www.npr.org/2022/09/27/ [login to see] /japan-funeral-shinzo-abe
Japan held a rare state funeral for its longest-serving prime minister, Shinzo Abe, on Tuesday, despite widespread public opposition to the event.
Roads were closed around the Nippon Budokan Hall, where the event was held. Some 20,000 police were mobilized to prevent the sort of security lapses which allowed Abe's suspected killer to walk behind him at a July 8 campaign event and shoot him twice with a homemade shotgun.
Japan held a rare state funeral for its longest-serving prime minister, Shinzo Abe, on Tuesday, despite widespread public opposition to the event.
Roads were closed around the Nippon Budokan Hall, where the event was held. Some 20,000 police were mobilized to prevent the sort of security lapses which allowed Abe's suspected killer to walk behind him at a July 8 campaign event and shoot him twice with a homemade shotgun.
Japan holds a controversial state funeral for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
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Thousands lined up to lay flowers at tables in front of pictures of Abe outside the hall. In a sign of the divisions surrounding the commemoration, thousands of others took to the streets in protest. Just down the street from the Budokan, protesters opposed to the state funeral tussled with Abe supporters and police.
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Kishida has been criticized for forcing through the costly event and over the widening controversy about Abe’s and the governing party’s decades of close ties with the ultra-conservative Unification Church, accused of raking in huge donations by brainwashing adherents. Abe’s alleged assassin reportedly told police he killed the politician because of his links to the church; he said his mother ruined his life by giving away the family’s money to the church.
“The fact that the close ties between the LDP and the Unification Church may have interfered with policymaking processes is seen by the Japanese people as a greater threat to democracy than Abe’s assassination,” wrote Hosei University political science professor Jiro Yamaguchi in a recent article.
Abe’s grandfather, former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, helped the church take root in Japan and is now seen as a key figure in the scandal. Opponents say holding a state funeral for Abe is equivalent to an endorsement of ruling party ties to the Unification Church."
..."Kishida has been criticized for forcing through the costly event and over the widening controversy about Abe’s and the governing party’s decades of close ties with the ultra-conservative Unification Church, accused of raking in huge donations by brainwashing adherents. Abe’s alleged assassin reportedly told police he killed the politician because of his links to the church; he said his mother ruined his life by giving away the family’s money to the church.
“The fact that the close ties between the LDP and the Unification Church may have interfered with policymaking processes is seen by the Japanese people as a greater threat to democracy than Abe’s assassination,” wrote Hosei University political science professor Jiro Yamaguchi in a recent article.
Abe’s grandfather, former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, helped the church take root in Japan and is now seen as a key figure in the scandal. Opponents say holding a state funeral for Abe is equivalent to an endorsement of ruling party ties to the Unification Church."
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