Text/Guan Junran
Editor/Paint Field
At 2 p.m. local time on September 27, the state funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe opened in the Japanese Budokan in Tokyo. More than two months ago, Japan's longest-serving prime minister was shot dead while giving a street speech in Nara.
On September 27, 2022, the state funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was held at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo. On July 8, Abe was killed in a Senate election.
After the film of Abe's life was played in the venue, current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida took the stage to deliver a eulogy. He walked to the altar and stood in the middle, talking and occasionally looking up at Abe's photos. Kishida, chairman of the funeral committee, said: "Today, people from all walks of life in Japan and all over the world are here. Everyone cherishes and misses you with the same feeling. ”
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stood in front of the altar as the "Chairman of the Funeral Committee" to deliver a eulogy.
The Japanese government expects 4,300 people to attend the funeral, including about 700 overseas guests from 218 countries, regions and international organizations. However, the absence of the G7 heads of state at the funeral put the "condolence diplomacy" vigorously promoted by the Kishida government into a dilemma.
According to a telephone opinion survey conducted by Japan's Kyodo News Agency on September 18, 60.8% of respondents answered "oppose" and "tend to oppose" to state funerals, and only 38.5% of the public said "yes" and "tend to approve".
On the occasion of the state funeral ceremony, many people held up signs saying "Against state funerals" to demonstrate around the Budokan.
On the morning of September 27, protesters holding signs reading "Against state funerals" in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo.
The hasty decision, the huge cost, the absence of important mourners, and the opposition of the people made the state funeral ceremony critically watched. Abe under the Nine Springs could have imagined that a forced state funeral would rekindle the anger of more than half of the people against themselves and even the Liberal Democratic Party.
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On the afternoon of September 27, the honor guard welcomed Abe's ashes to the Nippon Budokan in Kitanomaru Park. Abe's widow, Akie Abe, walked into the museum holding an urn.
Shinzo Abe's wife, Akie Abe, walked into the Nippon Budokan with Abe's ashes.
The state funeral ceremony officially began at 2 p.m. In addition to Prime Minister Kishida, the speaker of the House of Representatives and other senior party leaders also made brief speeches, bowing to Abe's family members sitting on the right and then approaching the altar to salute.
Former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who succeeded Abe in 2020, recalled rushing to Abe's side immediately after the shooting. "You want to create a Japan with a better tomorrow than today. You give hope to young people and speak your strong beliefs to your citizens every day. In his speech, he said sadly: "Why should you take your life in such a tragic way when you are so indispensable to us?" ”
After a series of eulogies, the guests presented white chrysanthemums in turn. At the ceremony, nearly 1,400 self-defense team members carried out tasks such as "mourning salute" and "playing music". Among them, the condolence salute will follow the custom, firing 19 rounds.
People lined up to offer flowers.
Given current public opinion, the state funeral ceremony took place for only one and a half hours, halving the three hours of former Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida's state funeral. Since World War II, in addition to the "great funeral" of Emperor Showa, Japan has only held state funerals for Shigeru Yoshida (who was prime minister from 1946 to 1954).
In recent days, Japan has welcomed dignitaries from various countries, and the security sector has also strengthened its vigilance. From noon to 9 p.m. on September 27, the Metropolitan Police Department imposed a ban on the roads around the Budokaner and the State Guest House. At the highway entrance near Haneda Airport, motor vehicles were temporarily asked to stop for inspection. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport has also made the area within a 46-kilometer radius around the Budokan a no-fly zone.
Japan welcomes dignitaries from various countries, and the security services have also stepped up their vigilance.
Japan Post, Sagawa Kyuki and other express deliveries to Tokyo were delayed due to restrictions. Three elementary schools near the venue held online classes on the morning of September 27 and closed in the afternoon. At stations in Tokyo, some coin-operated lockers are no longer available. In this regard, some people complained: "Everyone still has to go to work, traffic control is too affecting work!" ”
On July 14, six days after Abe's attack, Kishida hastily announced a state funeral. Some LDP lawmakers broke the news that the state funeral policy was determined an hour before the press conference on the same day.
Why did the decision in mid-July have to be postponed until the end of September? Officials around Kishida explained: "It can only be held when the Budokan's hall is vacant, and there is no extra choice in time." "There are also analyses that sufficient time needs to be set aside to prepare for the reception of foreign heads of state.
Kishida's decision to "hold a state funeral" without the approval of the National Assembly at that time laid the groundwork for the controversy that followed. Japanese constitutional expert Kobayashi pointed out that there are two necessary conditions for holding a state funeral, one is that it must obtain a resolution from the highest organ of state power, that is, the National Assembly, and the decision on the state funeral is only in the form of a cabinet resolution, which can only be called a "cabinet funeral" at most; Second, it is necessary to form a consensus among the people that "it is worth a state burial". Today, neither of these things exists.
What's more, Abe's state funeral "coincidentally" met the queen's state funeral. The Queen's funeral on September 19 is said to have cost £8 million, while Abe's state funeral budget soared from 250 million yen initially announced at the end of August to 1.66 billion yen (81.93 million yuan) in early September. According to the BBC, half of the Japanese government's funeral budget will be spent on security and one-third on receiving foreign guests.
According to Kishida, the nearly seven-fold increase in state funeral fees is only "estimated on a hypothetical basis." This seems to imply that the fee will eventually increase. Some Japanese media joked: "In the end, it may cost 3.2 billion yen... The government will not be held accountable, and politicians will not suffer anything. ”
Another reason for the anger of the people is the close relationship between the LDP and the "World Federation of Families for Peaceful Reunification" (hereinafter referred to as "Unification Church"). Abe's killer, Toru Yamamoto, also confessed after his arrest that he assassinated Abe because his mother was obsessed with the "Unification Religion" and donated a lot of money to it, resulting in the bankruptcy of the family. Abe has repeatedly stood for the religious group.
A survey released by Kyodo News Agency in mid-August showed that more than 100 of the 712 Japanese Diet members surveyed were linked to the controversial "Unification Religion," nearly eight of whom became LDP lawmakers. Kishida's reshuffled cabinet includes 54 vice ministers and administrative officials, at least 20 of whom have had contact with the "Unification Church."
The Japanese website "Friday Digital" satirizes that "Unification Religion" not only affects cabinet ministers, but also includes cabinet ministers and administrative officials, and "Nagata-cho (the seat of the Prime Minister's Office) will soon become 'Kishida Unification Cabinet'."
In such a negative state funeral atmosphere, the TV station also struggled with how to broadcast the ceremony live. A person in charge of a private television station said: "Because more than half of the public opinion opposes it, the leaders have instructed not to comment too much. In the broadcast screen, although the host will explain it, the tone will be relatively flat. ”
Even more troublesome is the playback of advertisements. Advertisers have asked not to insert ads in state funeral programs: "Playing a hilarious ad during a state funeral would seem too unserious and would be considered to support a state funeral." ”
The Japan Broadcasting Association (NHK) will broadcast a special news program from 1:40 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on the 27th. The person in charge said: "There are many different opinions about the state funeral, and I hope to show it to everyone from as many angles as possible." Fuji Television's two-hour live broadcast, which began at 1:45 p.m., will also report on Abe's exploits and legacy while mourning his death. TV Tokyo, which has always been "different", still maintains its style and has decided to broadcast only 5 minutes of news programs.
Kishida's approval rating is a record low, and Mrs. Abe is on the hot search
On September 10, Japanese director Yamon Miyamoto received an invitation to attend the state funeral, which made him wonder: "Why send it to me?" Got it wrong. I am not a politician, and I have not invited me to a cherry blossom viewing party in the past (note: Abe was criticized for spending money on the "cherry blossom viewing party" during his lifetime). Of course I wouldn't go. ”
According to Miyamoto's observation, the invitation can be described as "shoddy", and the deadline for the receipt was affixed with a correction tape and handwritten "September 13 (Tuesday)". The title at the beginning of the invitation is also very unnatural, and even his name is mistaken.
Whether or not to participate in Abe's state funeral has become an opportunity for Japanese celebrities to express their personal opinions, and celebrities such as Yamon Miyamoto have posted photos on social media that have circled invitations to indicate their "absence".
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroichi Matsuno's fluttering remark that "all taxes are paid" ignited the anger in the hearts of the Japanese people. Ordinary people who are experiencing the depreciation of the yen and rising prices cannot accept the decision to invest such a huge tax on a person's funeral.
According to a survey conducted by the Japan Consumer Association on "national funerals," the average Japanese person will spend an average of 1.619 million yen (about 80,000 yuan) on funerals in 2020. Some netizens scoffed: "(State funeral) is equivalent to 1,000 times the funeral expenses of ordinary people, everyone spent 1.6 billion, but they can only remotely mourn his portrait in front of the TV." ”
In late August, 17 people, including Chizuru Ueno, a Japanese sociologist and professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo, launched a signature campaign to suspend the state funeral on the grounds that "Abe's state funeral violates the freedom of thought guaranteed by the Constitution." On September 19, a protest rally of 13,000 people was held in Yoyogi Park in Tokyo. During the typhoon weather, participants braved the rain to hold protest slogans at the scene and shouted slogans such as "oppose unconstitutional state funerals".
On September 27, 2022, protesters opposed to state funerals gathered in front of the National Assembly Hall in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, holding signs saying "Against State Funerals."
On September 21, coinciding with Abe's 68th birthday, a man in his 70s set himself on fire in a street near the prime minister's official residence. The man suffered burns all over his body and lost consciousness when he was taken to the hospital. Police found a note at the scene that read, "I personally firmly oppose the burial of former Prime Minister Shin Abe."
Film director and former radical leftist Masao Adachi plans to screen a condensed version of Revolution+1, based on the assassination of Abe, in several art theaters on September 26-29, with a full release nationwide early next year. Adachi, 83, said the film was not about praising the murderer on the mountain, but about restoring his upbringing and the process of committing the crime: "I want to boycott [Abe's] state funeral." This incident will never be forgiven, but I hope that people will feel the pain and misfortune caused by the cult ('Unification Religion'). ”
In addition to popular opposition, two former prime ministers, Naoto Kan and Yukio Hatoyama, have also expressed their intention not to attend Abe's funeral. Among the local administrators, prefectural governors from Nagano, Shizuoka, Miyazaki, and Okinawa also made it clear that they would not attend the state funerals.
There was also no shortage of opposition within the LDP, with Seiichiro Murakami, a former deputy finance minister and a special minister in charge of the cabinet office, publicly stating: "I have opposed it from the beginning, so I do not intend to attend." Shigeru Ishiba, former secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party, said: "It should not happen that a state funeral is held despite the opposition of more than half of the people." ”
Many LDP lawmakers even suggested that "since we are so opposed, we should not stick to the state funeral" and "we can imitate the 'joint funeral of the cabinet and the LDP' held for former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone in 2020, so that 200 million yen is enough."
Inside Japan, the embassies of many countries in Japan have received letters opposing state funerals, calling on the country's leaders and embassy staff not to attend the funerals. Autonomous groups in Osaka Prefecture, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Kochi Prefecture, Oita Prefecture and other prefectures have also received "threatening emails" asking for the suspension of state funerals.
Amid opposition to the state funeral, the Kishida regime's approval ratings declined further. According to a public opinion survey conducted by Japan's Mainichi Shimbun on September 17 and 18, Kishida's approval rating was only 29%, a record low.
But Shigeru Ishibashi believes that even if the public voices oppose the state funeral, the possibility of political change will not be too great. "Kishida's approval rating is declining, but the opposition party's support is not rising." "The public is upset," he said. They're not sure. I guess they just don't know what to do. ”
Abe's widow, Akie Abe, was also caught up in the whirlpool of public opinion. Recently, Zhaohui's name has become a hot search on Twitter, and calls for her not to participate in the state funeral have continued. Many netizens pointed out: "The Japanese government has no care for the survivors at all. ”
Since Mr. and Mrs. Abe have no heirs, with Abe's departure, the election board in Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, is also likely to be lost. Kenji Kakegawa, Abe's closest secretary, recently told Abe's supporters that the Abe office in Shimonoseki City will close at the end of December this year and that the support committee will be dissolved. Posters with Abe printed around the office were also torn off and replaced with candidates for parliamentarians in Shimonoseki City next February.
According to a local Liberal Democratic Party source, in Yamaguchi Prefecture, the criticism of unification and state funerals is quite strong, which has brought the influence of the Abe family to an end. With Seki City as its territory, Abe's former rival, Foreign Minister Lin Fangzheng, is also in action. "Many local Abe posters have been torn up by Lin Fangzheng's supporters." said the above-mentioned person.
"Condolence Diplomacy" Met with Cold Eyes The heads of state of the G7 group did not attend
In Kishida's view, the state funeral is not only Abe's funeral, but also his own diplomatic stage. On September 22, when he went to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly, he confessed, "I hope to further promote Japan's diplomacy through Abe's state funeral." ”
It is reported that Kishida's insistence on holding a state funeral was fueled by Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso. But to outsiders, this is a personal decision of the prime minister. At this moment, Kishida could only look at the faces of the LDP leaders while trying to express his willingness to "mourn diplomacy" and promised, "I will do my best to be courteous to all countries and improve the credibility of the mainland."
Unfortunately, the results were not satisfactory. On September 24, Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau, who had planned to attend Abe's state funeral, canceled his attendance due to Hurricane Fiona. Trudeau's absence means that the only G7 head of state scheduled to attend Abe's state funeral is also here.
The only G7 summit person in attendance was U.S. Vice President Harry Aris, who led a 12-member condolence mission, including Trade Office Representative Dai Qi and former Secretary of State Armitage. Among the former U.S. presidents who have been friends with Abe, whether it is Trump, who has played golf with him several times, and Obama, who drinks at a Ginza sushi restaurant, said he would not attend.
The only G7 summit person who finally attended the state funeral was US Vice President Harris.
Current heads of state involved in the funeral included Australian Prime Minister Albanis, Indian Prime Minister Modi, Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The list also included former British Prime Minister Theresa May, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, former German President Wolff, former Italian Prime Minister Renzi and others.
Among Japan's neighboring countries, China sent Wan Gang, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, South Korea sent Prime Minister Han Deok-so, Mongolia sent Prime Minister O'Yun Erden, and Russia sent former Minister of Culture Shvidkoy to attend the state funeral.
The main venue of "Condolence Diplomacy" is located at the State Guest House in Akasaka. It is reported that Kishida will hold 30 talks from September 26 to 28 to meet with politicians from many countries and representatives of international groups. Among them, about 20 talks were arranged on the 26th alone, and each meeting lasted only about 10 to 15 minutes. It is reported that the dignitaries involved in the talks were divided into two rooms, and Kishida went back and forth between them. After the state funeral, Abe Akie and Kishida will once again entertain overseas guests at the State Guest House.
In addition to current Prime Minister Albanis, three former prime ministers, including Turnbull, who worked with Abe to bring the Comprehensive and Progressive Partnership for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) into force, attended the state funeral. In a meeting with Kishida on the morning of September 27, Albanis said: "Abe's death is a tragic loss. Without Abe's leadership, the Quadripartite Security Dialogue (QUAD) between the United States, Japan, Australia and India would not have been possible. ”
Australian Prime Minister Albanis held talks with Kishida.
Yoshiki Mine, a former Japanese diplomat and representative of the Institute of Peace and Diplomacy, commented, "The foreign politicians attending the state funeral came to express their condolences to former Prime Minister Abe, and the 10 to 15 minutes of talks plus the translation can actually only be said for 5 minutes, and nothing can be said at all." ”
Hiroshi Shiratori, of Hosei University's graduate school in Japan, said bluntly that [Kishida] was only trying to get a message to conservatives in the party who supported Abe, and did not raise any worldwide issues. It is also natural that VIPs from all over the world will not come. ”
On September 19, Her Majesty the Emperor and Empress of Japan, U.S. President Joe Biden and his wife, and heads of state from around the world gathered at Westminster Abbey in the United Kingdom to attend the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. Japanese netizens therefore sarcastically said: "Britain is the real state funeral, because it will be accompanied by the grief of the people" "Prime Minister Kishida will also feel uneasy about Abe's state funeral when he sees such a scene, right?" ”
The Japanese government has set up flower observatories outside the Nihonbudo Hall for ordinary people to come to mourn.
The history of state funerals in Japan can be traced back to the funeral of Okubo Ritsu, one of the "Three Masters of the Restoration". In May 1878, Okubo was assassinated. Although there was no system at the time, three days later his funeral was unprecedentedly grand, and he became the first political leader in Japan to enjoy a state funeral.
Junichi Miyama, a Japanese historian and professor at Chuo University who studies the history of state funerals, explains: "The Meiji government at that time was not rock-solid. The reason why Ito Hirobumi and others, who are Okubo's successors, want to use the name of the emperor to mourn the whole country is to show that disobeying the government is also against the emperor's wishes. ”
More than 140 years later, he was surprised by the decision to hold a state funeral for Abe. "The state funeral is a system that suppresses critical opinions and ideas, and is incompatible with democracy in postwar Japan." Jun Miyama has always said, "As a relic of the Empire of Japan, I don't think Japan needs [state burials] at all." ”