<figure id="attachment_266730" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-266730" style="width: 5137px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="825cb967"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/09/aflo_199674093.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-266730" class="wp-caption-text">Former Prime Minister Abe&#8217;s state funeral was held at the Budokan on the 27th. In the neighborhood, demonstrations by opponents and supporters were mixed&#8230;</figcaption></figure>
 Was there ever a funeral with such a bad aftertaste&#8230;?
 The state funeral for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was killed by a bullet in July, was held at the Nippon Budokan on September 27.
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 About 4,200 people attended. Tens of thousands of people from all over the country visited the flower altar in Kudanzaka Park, which was set up for the general public, and many people waited for several hours before finally being able to offer flowers. There were also many people joining hands at the site of the shooting in Nara on the same day.
 On the other hand, around the Budokan venue, there were many people who were chanting &#8220;No to the funeral! and &#8220;Smash the funeral! and &#8220;smash the national funeral! The pro-funeral protesters also became agitated and shouted in a loud voice, clashing with the protesters and causing a commotion at the scene.
 The demonstrators continued to voice their opposition not only around the Budokan but also in Osaka, Nara, Kyushu, and other parts of Japan.
 The decision was quickly made within the government, without consulting the Diet or the public, on the grounds that the &#8220;longest-serving prime minister in the history of constitutional government&#8221; deserved a state funeral.
 Immediately after the incident, the statement of the suspect, Yamagami, had not been made public, and the name of the former Unification Church had been withheld. But after the ban was lifted all at once, it became clear that Abe had decided to kill him after seeing him send video messages to a Unification Church-affiliated group, and we also learned that the suspect was bankrupted by exorbitant donations made by Yamagami&#8217;s mother.
 One can only say that even if the Unification Church issue had not come to light, there would have been demonstrations against the state funeral. I believe that Mr. Abe has had the largest number of strong anti-government protesters in Japan since he was in office. The level of dissatisfaction was extremely high because Mr. Abe&#8217;s responsibility for the &#8220;morikake&#8221; issue, the cherry blossom viewing party, and the Public Offices Election Law violation case involving Katsuyuki Anri Kawai and his wife, etc., had been left in the background,&#8221; said a political journalist.
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 On the other hand, former Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide&#8217;s memorial address as a greeting from a friend touched the hearts of all of Japan.
 He said, &#8220;Even amidst the daily grind of resolutions and decisions, you, Mr. Prime Minister, always kept a smile on your face.
 The speech was also highly praised on social networking sites, with many people saying they were moved to tears.
 However, on the &#8220;Morning Show&#8221; (TV Asahi) on the 28th, commentator Toru Tamagawa said
 He said, &#8220;There was a word that pierced my heart. It will remain as an established fact.
 He then pointed out that
 &#8220;This is the intention of the state funeral.
 He then developed his own theory: &#8220;This is the intention of the national funeral. The host, Shinichi Hatori, commented
 I thought this part of the speech was different from the rest of the speech.
 Opinions were divided.
 The national funeral was a fierce battle between the two sides, dividing national opinion into two halves. The funeral could hardly be said to have ended without incident, and only deep resentment remained.
 At the extraordinary Diet session scheduled to convene on October 3, the opposition parties are expected to press not only the issue of the former Unification Church but also the legal basis for the state funeral and the disclosure of security expenses, making this a critical moment for the Kishida administration&#8230;.

 Representative photo/Reuters/Afro

 On September 27, the state funeral of former Prime Minister Abe was held at the Nippon Budokan. The event was truly an event that divided national opinion, with demonstrations held by both supporters and opponents of the...

Toru Tamagawa develops his “pet theory”… “Pros vs. Cons” of state funerals: too deep resentment.

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