Ask two experts about what's at issue with state funerals

Various discussions are taking place among scholars and others over the "state funeral" of former Prime Minister Abe.

After asking two experts, four main points emerged.

The opinions were heard by

Masahiro Sokabe, a constitutional scholar and professor at Kyoto University

's Graduate School of Law, and Shinichiro Takeda, a professor at Seikei University's Faculty of Law who specializes in administrative law.

1. Legal Basis

The first is the “legal basis”.

Before World War II, the legal basis for state funerals was the state funeral ordinance issued as an imperial decree in 1926, but it lost its effect with the enforcement of the Constitution of Japan.

As the basis for this decision, the government said, ``The Cabinet Office Establishment Act clearly states that the affairs of the Cabinet Office are related to national ceremonial affairs, and the Cabinet Decision can be used as the basis for this.''

Regarding this, Professor Sokabe said, ``Laws are necessary to restrict the rights of the people, but they are not necessarily necessary this time, and the government's explanation is not that strange. Since it is demanded, it loses its significance if it is done in the midst of controversy.In that sense, it is desirable to have a law that stipulates the procedure."

On the other hand, Professor Takeda said, ``The Cabinet Office Establishment Law only exemplifies the basic work of government offices and cannot be said to be the basis for exercising specific authority. It's the same as the National Tax Agency not being able to arbitrarily change the tax rate."

2. Budget decision process

The second is the budget decision process.

At the cabinet meeting on the 26th, the government decided to spend about 250 million yen from the reserve fund of this year's budget, but there are various opinions about the decision without going through the debate in the Diet. .

Professor Sokabe points out, ``The constitution stipulates that expenditures will be made at the discretion of the Cabinet after recording a reserve fund, and the Diet will approve it after the fact, so there is no legal problem.''

Professor Takeda said, "A considerable amount of taxpayers' money will be used. From the point of view of the principle of democracy, it would be putting the cart before the horse if the expenditures were decided by the Cabinet and then discussed in the Diet."

3. Should we hold funerals for certain politicians?

Third, whether or not a particular politician's funeral should be held.

The government says that former Prime Minister Abe ``had a heavy responsibility as prime minister for the longest period in history and achieved great results in domestic affairs and diplomacy,'' but there are various opinions about holding a funeral for a specific politician. is out.

Professor Sokabe pointed out, "It is possible that Mr. Abe will be honored for his contributions over many years as the prime minister of a country. However, we need to discuss whether this is a sufficient reason to honor him."

Professor Takeda said, ``Since the evaluation of Abenomics and security-related laws has not been decided, the Diet should have fully discussed whether a state funeral should be held.''

4. Public Impact

Finally, there is the impact on the public.

At the state funeral of former Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida in 1967, schools and companies were asked to cooperate to express their condolences.

Regarding the impact of this incident, Professor Sokabe pointed out, "I don't think the freedom of thought and conscience guaranteed by the Constitution will be threatened immediately."

Professor Takeda expressed concern, saying, ``State funerals have the aspect of being used politically, and the effect of forcing people to mourn is unavoidable.''

The government postponed the cabinet approval to ask each ministry to express condolences

Regarding the state funeral this time, the government wanted to avoid misunderstanding that it was forcing the people to mourn, so it withheld the cabinet approval to ask each ministry and ministry to raise a mourning flag and observe a moment of silence. It is a policy not to ask related organizations such as associations to cooperate in expressing condolences.