Shinzo Abe funeral: Japanese man ‘sets himself on fire’ in protest of assassinated PM’s state funeral

Tokyo, Japan
CNN
–

A Japanese man in his 70s was taken to a hospital in Tokyo after setting himself on fire near the prime minister’s office, according to Japanese broadcaster NHK.

“I have heard that the police found a man with burns near the cabinet office this morning before 7 a.m. and I know that the police are investigating,” said Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno. with reporters on Wednesday.

The man told the police that he was against the plan to organize a National mourning for former prime minister Shinzo Abe CNN affiliate TV Asahi reported later this month.

Police are currently gathering evidence from security cameras and eyewitnesses, TV Asahi said, adding that an officer trying to put out the fire was injured and taken to hospital.

Shinzo Abe is from Japan longest serving prime ministerheld the position from 2006 to 2007 and continued to hold the position from 2012 to 2020 before resigning due to health reasons.

He died suffered profuse bleeding in July at the age of 67 after being shot while giving a public campaign speech.

News of his assassination reverberate world and large crowd gathered on the streets of Tokyo to pay their respects.

The Japanese government has announced that it will hold a state funeral for Prime Minister Abe on September 27, with an expected cost of up to 12 million USD because of the high security and reception fees for the guests. foreign dignitaries.

Opposition to that move is growing. Some protesters resented what they saw as the exorbitant use of public funds for the event, while others pointed to Abe’s sometimes divisive politics.

State funerals in Japan are usually reserved for members of the royal family, although the honor was also given to former Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida in 1967.

Despite his victory at the ballot box, Abe is no stranger to controversy. He has been embroiled in a number of scandals during his career and caused controversy when he visited the Yasukuni Shrine, which includes the names of convicted war criminals and is considered by China, North Korea and South Korea as symbol of Japan’s militaristic past.