At 14:00 local time on September 27, the state funeral ceremony of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was held at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo.
This was the second time that a state funeral was held in Japan after the war, except for the emperor and empress. The last time it was held in 1967 for former Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida.
On the one hand, the inside story of Abe and the Liberal Democratic Party's involvement in the cult "Unification Religion" has been continuously exposed, resulting in a sharp rise in Japanese people's opposition to the state funeral. According to the latest Kyodo News Agency poll in mid-September, 60.8% of the respondents opposed state funerals. This hit Kishida's cabinet directly, and for the first time in the worst Mainichi Shimbun polls, the approval rating fell below the 30% mark.
On the other hand, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio stressed that the state funeral is also "funeral diplomacy", not only to inherit Abe's diplomatic legacy and continue the diplomatic concept of the "Indo-Pacific Strategy" put forward by Abe before his death, but also to gain public support.
The Japan Broadcasting Association (NHK) expects to have about 4,300 domestic and foreign guests in attendance, including about 700 from various countries, regions and international organizations. But none of the G7 countries had a foreign head of state participating, and the highest-ranking was U.S. Vice President Harris.
This raises the question of how much practical effect can the so-called "funeral diplomacy" have? After experiencing this public opinion split and the major setback in the polls, can the Kishida government still "come back to life"?
Inside the Abe State Funeral Ceremony (Photo by Nippon TV)
On July 8, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot and assassinated while speaking on the streets of Nara. On July 12, the Abe family held a private funeral at Zengshangji Temple in Tokyo, attended only by relatives and friends, and then the remains were cremated. On July 14, Kishida announced that a state funeral ceremony would be held for Abe, at the expense of which would be borne by the state.
On September 27, after Abe's ashes arrived at the Budokan, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroichi Matsuno, who served as vice chairman of the funeral committee, announced the start of the funeral at 2 p.m.
Abe Akie holding the urn (live screenshot)
After playing the national anthem and mourning in silence, a video of Abe's death was played, starting with Kishida, who served as chairman of the funeral committee, and the executive, legislative and judicial heads read the eulogy in turn, followed by former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga speaking as a representative of friends.
Suga choked up at one point during his eulogy (screenshot of NHK live broadcast)
Emperor Naruhito and his wife and Emperor Akihito each sent emissaries to mourn, and then the imperial family offered flowers and other participants.
Mr. and Mrs. Abe's third brother, Mr. and Mrs. Abe, his brother Nobuo Kishi, and his two sons attended as family members. Kishi was in a wheelchair all the time. (NHK Live Screenshot)
Foreign guests have successively laid flowers (NHK live screenshot)
Because there were loopholes in the police security in the Abe assassination case, it is difficult to blame them, and the Japanese National Police Agency attaches great importance to this security.
From the 26th to the 29th, it will enter the special state of state funeral security and will devote a maximum of about 20,000 police personnel. With the area around the venue as the core, traffic control is carried out in the center of Tokyo on a large scale and is strictly guarded. Around the state funeral, the Japanese government set up an intelligence liaison room at the crisis management center of the official residence on the 26th.
Japanese police inspect sewers in areas near the venue (NHK photo)
According to the website of the Japan Broadcasting Association (NHK), on the morning of the 27th, the National Diet Hall and the Central Provincial Office Building in Kasumiseki, Tokyo, both flew flags at half-mast to mourn.
At this state funeral, the Japanese government did not explicitly ask local governments and people to express their condolences, and local governments can decide whether to hang half-mast to mourn. NHK has learned that of the 47 prefectures and 20 cities in Japan that have enacted government decrees, only Okinawa Prefecture and Kawasaki City have decided not to mourn.
No half-mast in front of the Okinawa Prefectural Government Building (NHK photo)
"Funeral diplomacy" failed
After Abe's assassination, countries around the world called at the first time to express their condolences. One of the purposes of the Japanese government's decision on the state funeral ceremony is also to engage in "funeral diplomacy."
When Kishida went to New York for the United Nations General Assembly on September 22, he admitted that he "hopes to further promote Japan's diplomacy through Abe's state funeral."
The Yomiuri Shimbun noted that during his lifetime, Abe proposed that efforts must be made to strengthen relations with the Group of Seven. At the same time, he also proposed the idea of a "free Indo-Pacific" with the Japan-U.S. alliance as the axis. Kishida insisted that the state funeral be held for him also to emphasize that Japan will continue to promote and promote these ideas.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroichi Matsuno and Foreign Minister Yoshinori Hayashi have both said on different occasions that they would show their government's posture of inheriting and developing Abe's diplomatic legacy to both home and abroad.
According to the list of foreign guests released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, a total of 218 guests from countries, regions and international organizations attended, of which 96 countries and regions and 21 international organizations sent special envoys to attend. There are 48 current and former foreign heads of state.
The U.S. condolence mission consisted of 12 people, led by Vice President Harris, accompanied by Trade Representative Dai Qi and former Secretary of State Armitage. The Chinese side sent Wan Gang, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and Russia sent the President's special representative for international culture, Mikhail Shividkoy.
The United Kingdom is Foreign Development Secretary Cranfrey and former Prime Minister May, France is former President Sarkozy, Germany is former President Wulf, Italy is Minister of Universities and Research Mesa and former Prime Minister Renzi. Serbia is Prime Minister Brnabić. EU Council President Michel and his wife will also attend.
Australia is Prime Minister Albanis and former Prime Minister Howard, Abbott and Turnbull. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was scheduled to attend, but the plan was temporarily cancelled as the hurricane hit eastern Canada.
Kishida poses with Australian Prime Minister Albanis and three former prime ministers (Photo by Japanese television)
South Korea is Prime Minister Han Deok-so and Deputy Speaker of Parliament Jung Jin-sook, India is Prime Minister Modi, Singapore is Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his wife, Vietnam is President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Thailand is Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Don, Cambodia is Prime Minister Hun Sen, Mongolia is Prime Minister O'Yun Erden, Foreign Minister Batsetzeg and Energy Minister Joey Jil Sulen.
US Vice President Harris flew to Tokyo on the 26th to hold talks with Fumio Kishida to discuss many issues, including the regional situation. On the 28th, Harris will also visit the Yokosuka Naval Base of the US military in Japan and deliver a speech. Flew to South Korea on the 29th.
None of the G7 leaders participated, and the headline of Japan's "Weekly Flash" directly used "G7 total extinction".
Former Japanese diplomat Keiki Mine said in an interview with the Asahi Shimbun that he basically did not expect the state funeral to have any diplomatic significance. "If face-to-face greetings and handshakes are also diplomacy, there are still certain results." But as for the specific diplomatic results, they are largely absent. ”
On the issue that there are not many heads of state or government among the guests, Maine said that first of all, Abe is not the current prime minister. Although Kishida has continuously promoted Abe's diplomatic achievements, countries have not always evaluated Abe so highly. Secondly, the opposition to the state funeral in Japan is high, and domestic public opinion is divided, and foreign guests will also consider this situation. Since state burials are not welcome in Japan, is it necessary for foreign heads of state to visit in person?
Meigen also gave a special example, after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Biden immediately announced that he would go to the funeral, which can also explain a certain problem.
More than 60% of the Japanese people oppose it, and the Kishida government polls have been hit hard
In postwar Japan, for former prime ministers, "joint funerals of the Cabinet and the Liberal Democratic Party" were usually held.
Kishida's reason for the state funeral is that Abe has served as prime minister for the longest time in Japan's constitutional history; Abe has made a real contribution to post-earthquake reconstruction and economic recovery, and diplomacy; Responding to the tributes and condolences of all countries; Demonstrate the Government's resolute posture of not succumbing to violence.
At the beginning of Abe's assassination, support for state funerals in Japan was once dominant. NHK's July 16-18 poll showed that 49 percent of respondents rated the move positively and 38 percent rated it badly.
But since then, opposition has soared. After the second week of August, all the media in Japan were left and right, and the disapproval rate of the polls was the majority. In the latest poll (September 17-18), the Kyodo poll had a 60.8% dissenting rate; The joint poll of Sankei Shimbun and FNN News Network was 62.3%; The Daily News poll had a 62 percent dissenting rate.
The reason for this is that the inextricable relationship between Abe and the cult "Unification Religion" during his lifetime has been constantly exposed, and the public has found that a large number of LDP legislators are also involved in the "Unification Religion". This fact quickly diluted the widespread sympathy that prevailed at the beginning of Abe's assassination.
Hitotsubashi University political science professor Nakahoku Hoor said in an interview with the Asahi Shimbun that the biggest reason is the "unification of the church" problem. Because Abe and LDP lawmakers received help from the "church" in the election, the public naturally wondered if it was necessary to hold a special state funeral if the Unification Church was used to win the election.
In addition, the high consumption of financial resources has also caused public dissatisfaction. The trial cost of the state funeral reached 1.66 billion yen (about 82 million yuan). Japanese people complained that the cost of the state funeral was higher than the Queen's funeral, and even the BBC took note of this sentiment.
On the 29th, the Supreme Court of Japan also rejected the lawsuit of the citizens' group for the suspension of the implementation of the state funeral budget. Citizens' groups have argued that Abe's state funeral has no legal basis and is even suspected of being unconstitutional.
Protests against Abe's state funeral at Shinjuku West Exit in Tokyo
Affected by Abe's state funeral and the "Unification Church" incident, Kishida's cabinet support has been declining. NHK polls in September showed a 40 percent approval rating and a 40 percent unfavorable rating surged to 40 percent from 28 percent in August. The Nikkei Shimbun poll support fell 14% to 43%, and the Kyodo poll support fell 13.9% to 40.2%. The Daily News poll was the worst, with a 29 percent approval rating, falling below the 30 percent mark for the first time.
In addition, Japan's largest opposition party, the Cadets, opposed state funerals. Ahn Sumi-chun, a member of the National People's Congress of the Communist Party of China, said that although the party opposes the state funeral, it will also quietly send Abe off. The implication is that there will be no street demonstrations.
In contrast, the Japanese Communist Party has taken a tough stance. Koike, secretary general of the Communist Party of Japan, reiterated at a press conference on the 26th that he believed that the state funeral was unconstitutional and demanded that the suspension be decided immediately. Japanese Communist Party Chairman Kazuo Shibu even forwarded the event poster on Twitter, calling on the public to hold a protest in front of the National Assembly at the same time as the state funeral, "oppose the state funeral until the last moment."
This article is an exclusive manuscript of the Observer Network and may not be reproduced without authorization.