China News Service, September 27. According to foreign media reports, the state funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was held at the Tokyo Budokan at 2 pm local time (1 pm Beijing time).
The funeral altar is presented in the shape of Abe's favorite Mount Fuji, with yellow and white decorative flowers forming the shape of a mountain, and the altar is enshrined with the congressman's badge he wore.
Data map: On September 27, 2022, the Japanese government held a state funeral for former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the Tokyo Budokan.
According to the Japan Broadcasting Association (NHK), the state funeral ceremony lasted about 1.5 hours. Before the ceremony, the Self-Defense Force fired 19 salutes, and then played Abe's favorite song "Flowers Are Blooming".
Abe's wife Akie walked into the venue with Abe's urn in hand.
According to reports, at 2:13 local time, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Matsuno resigned and announced the official start of the state funeral. After a minute of silence, the Self-Defense Forces played the Japanese national anthem, and then played a video of Abe's death for about 8 minutes.
Afterwards, the eulogy was read aloud by the head of the three powers, starting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who served as the chairman of the funeral committee, and then former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga delivered a speech as a representative of friends.
It is reported that a flower-laying stand has been set up in the park near the venue for Japanese citizens to mourn.
It was previously reported that about 700 delegations including about 200 countries, regions and international institutions attended the state funeral, with a total of about 4,300 participants.
This is the second time that Japan has held a state funeral for a former prime minister after the war. The last time was the state funeral of Shigeru Yoshida 55 years ago.