State funeral for Japan ex-PM Shinzo Abe to cost 1.7 billion yen

Source: Reuters

The state funeral for former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will cost around 1.7 billion yen ($12 million), the Japanese government has said. This is a marked increase on the initial estimate of 250 million yen that the government had approved in late August, reports Reuters. It was heavily criticised as an unrealistic figure for the state funeral and did not include security or the cost of hosting the several current and former heads of state who are expected to attend.

Civic group and opposition politicians had already expressed concerns about using taxpayer money for the state funeral, which will be held on September 27 in Tokyo. Recent polls showed that about half of Japanese voters also opposed the publicly funded event.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno announced the new estimate of 1.7 billion yen on Tuesday. Security is expected to cost around 800 million yen, with another 600 million to be spent on hosting, Matsuno, the top government spokesperson, told reporters in a regular briefing. About 250 million will go into the ceremony, he said.

When asked if the total would come to 1.7 billion yen, he responded: “If we were to give a simplified estimate, I guess the total would be close to what you said.”

Shinzo Abe was shot dead on the campaign trail in July. He had served as prime minister of Japan for over eight years.

Some 6,000 people are expected to attend his state funeral, to be held at Tokyo's Nippon Budokan. A private funeral has already taken place.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said the domestic and international accomplishments of Abe, the country's longest-serving prime minister, make a state ceremony appropriate.

But state funerals for former politicians are rare in Japan, and a weekend poll published Monday by the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper found that 56 percent of voters oppose the event, against 38 percent in favour.

(With inputs from agencies)