Japan to spend $1.83 mln on ex-PM Abe’s state funeral

Reuters:

TOKYO, Aug 26 – Japan will spend $1.83 million on a state funeral for slain former leader Shinzo Abe, the government said on Friday, despite growing opposition from a public angered by revelations of the ruling party’s ties to the Unification Church.

Abe, Japan’s longest-serving but divisive premier, was shot and killed at an election rally on July 8, and although funeral services were held soon after, Japan has decided to hold a state funeral at Tokyo’s Nippon Budokan arena on Sept. 27.

The government of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, an Abe protege, decided the state funeral would be paid for solely with state funds.

But opinion polls show persistent opposition to the idea. In the latest, published on Sunday, 53% of respondents were against a state funeral.

The public has been angered by revelations of ties between the ruling party and the Unification Church, which a vast majority of respondents to opinion polls feel has not been fully explained and has become a major headache for Kishida, dragging down his support rates.