China News Service, September 27 (Reporter Meng Xiangjun) 19 condolence salutes were fired. On September 27, local time, the funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated, was held in Tokyo.

Abe became the country's second post-war former prime minister to enjoy a "state funeral".

　　However, Abe's aftermath has been turbulent, overcoming the "three hurdles" full of challenges and controversy, and the funeral was finally held, but will everything subside?

[The first hurdle: Opposition by public opinion]

　　On September 19, Japan was hit by typhoon "Nanmadu", but the storm of public opinion seemed to be even more turbulent. About 13,000 people rallied in Tokyo to protest against the wind and rain. They called for only one thing-demand. The state funeral for Abe was cancelled.

On September 27, local time, the Japanese government held a funeral for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo.

　　Documentary writer Kamada Kei, one of the organizers of the rally, criticized that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's cabinet made a state funeral decision without approval or discussion in the Diet, and the government's approach was "unconstitutional."

　　The protest continued until the day of the funeral.

Some civil organizations filed a lawsuit against the state funeral, but the appeal was rejected by the local court; some people set themselves on fire near the prime minister's official residence in order to oppose the state funeral, and were sent to the hospital with burns all over their bodies.

　　According to the poll, 67.2% of Japanese respondents believed that the Kishida cabinet did not fully explain the necessity of holding a state funeral.

More than 70% of Japanese respondents also believe that the government spends too much on funerals.

The protesters made it clear that they do not want the Japanese authorities to waste tax money, and they want to use tax money to help people who are struggling.

On September 27, local time, the funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was held at the Tokyo Budokan.

　　The BBC previously estimated that the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, who died not long ago, cost 8 million pounds, or about 1.26 billion yen, but Abe's funeral cost 1.66 billion yen, higher than the Queen of England.

50% of the funds are used to strengthen on-site security, and another 1/3 is used to receive foreign guests.

　　Abe's opponents also recalled his attempts to "whitewash Japan's wartime atrocities, push for more military spending, and hold reactionary views on gender roles."

The New York Times pointed out that the funeral has become a "referendum" to evaluate Abe's administration during his lifetime.

[Second hurdle: political and religious collusion]

　　The dissatisfaction among the people has pushed the approval rating of Kishida's government to its lowest level since he came to power.

Currently, its cabinet approval rating has dropped to around 42%, a sharp drop of 12 percentage points from August.

　　Reuters believes that the funeral has "deepened the division" in Japanese society.

The Associated Press analyzed that despite opposition, Kishida insisted on a state funeral in an attempt to please the ruling Liberal Democratic Party members of Abe's conservative political faction to consolidate his control of power.

Japan's funeral for the polarizing Abe has drawn backlash.

Image source: Screenshot of Reuters report

　　The New York Times disclosed that Kishida and his cabinet unilaterally imposed Abe's state funeral on the country, which is equivalent to recognizing the relationship between the Liberal Democratic Party and the Unification Church.

　　The Unification Church, headquartered in South Korea, is active in Japan and has been involved in disputes many times.

It was Abe's grandfather, former Japanese leader Shinsuke Kishi, who helped the Unification Church take root in Japan.

The suspect in the assassination of Abe, Toru Yamagami, also angrily accused the Unified Church of accumulating money and defrauding his mother of almost all of his assets—nearly 1 million US dollars. Therefore, he decided to punish Abe, who was the “platform” of the religion.

　　"The New York Times" analyzed that perhaps the biggest turning point is that the suspect Yamagami's statement not only was not reprimanded, but instead resonated greatly among the Japanese public.

The Japanese media "unusually" continuously exposed the relationship between the Unification Church and the Liberal Democratic Party. At present, nearly half of the 379 Liberal Democratic Party members admitted to having ties with the Unification Church.

On July 10, Toru Yamagami, the suspect in the shooting of Abe, was handed over to the Nara Prefecture District Prosecutor's Office.

　　Japan's stagnant growth and widening inequality over the past few decades have left some people "with a strong sense of being victims" of "economic and social forces beyond their control," said Hank Kawasaki, a journalist who tracked the public's reaction to Abe's death. hit".

　　Lu Yaodong, a researcher at the Institute of Japanese Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, pointed out to a reporter from Chinanews.com that after World War II, Japan established the principle of separation of state and religion in its constitution. However, as the ruling party, many factions in the Liberal Democratic Party are related to the Unification Church, which violates the constitution. in principle.

　　This touched the sentiments of Japanese society, especially the people at the bottom, and led to a surge of civil opposition to state funerals.

Although Kishida said that the political party wants to cut off from the church, judging from the current performance, he has dodged a little and does not want to "lift the lid."

　　This also reflects that the Liberal Democratic Party, which has been dominated by one party for a long time, has not really listened to the voices of the people under the severe epidemic situation and weakened economy in Japan. It is more looking outward, such as strengthening its alliance with the United States and hyping up "East Asia suffers from the disease". threat theory,” and increased military spending.

[The third hurdle: condolence diplomacy]

　　As the "vanguard" of "value diplomacy", Abe proposed and touted concepts such as the Indo-Pacific strategy and the US-Japan-India-Australia Quadrilateral Security Dialogue. Respected by the West, Lu Yaodong pointed out.

　　At the same time, we must also see clearly that Abe has created troubles in East Asia and caused great trouble to the peace and stability of East Asia. He is also a "destroyer".

　　Who will deliver Abe's last ride?

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroichi Matsuno said earlier that about 4,300 people attended the funeral, of which about 700 were from overseas, and about 50 current and former leaders.

　　A list of dignitaries from various countries who attended Abe's funeral, including:

　　Prime Minister Narendra Modi

　　Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc

　　European Council President Michel

　　australian prime minister albanese

　　International Olympic Committee President Bach

　　...

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Vice President Harris.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Sha Hanting

　　The United States sent Vice President Harris to attend Abe's funeral.

In addition to Kishida, all the leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) were absent, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was previously thought to be the only one who could go, and delayed travel because he stayed at home to deal with Hurricane Fiona.

　　Many of those who came forward were "politicians of the previous generation", such as former British Prime Minister Theresa May, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, former German President Wulff, and former Italian Prime Minister Renzi.

However, in 2016, former U.S. President Barack Obama, who visited Hiroshima, the victim of the nuclear bombing with Abe, and former U.S. President Trump, who built the "honeymoon relationship" between the United States and Japan, did not attend.

　　Kyodo News quoted a person in the Prime Minister’s official residence as saying that the list of people attending the funeral is “hard to say that it is a luxurious lineup”, and this state funeral may fall into “a situation of inappropriate name and inappropriate words”; members of the main opposition parties, such as the Japanese Constitutional Democratic Party and the Japanese Communist Party, A boycott of funerals was also announced.

On May 27, 2016 local time, then US President Barack Obama, accompanied by then Japanese Prime Minister Abe, visited Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and laid a wreath.

　　Fumio Kishida insisted on seizing the opportunity of "condolence diplomacy" and held talks with US Vice President Harris and other dignitaries from various countries, who visited Japan for the first time since taking office, to demonstrate his inheritance of "Abe diplomacy".

　　Lu Yaodong analyzed that from the current situation, Kishida's "condolence diplomacy" is very different from its expected effect, including the reaction of the G7 countries and the strong opposition of the Japanese society, which were not fully expected by the Kishida government.

But as a ruler, it still has to move forward.

　　Bloomberg commented that Kishida decided to hold a state funeral for Abe in order to give Japan a "moment of unity". However, this funeral overdrafted Abe's "legacy" to the Liberal Democratic Party.

Koichi Nakano, a professor of political science at Sophia University in Tokyo, believes that Kishida hopes to "deify Abe and cover up history" with a state funeral, but it is difficult to ensure that history evaluates him positively.

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