Former Pm Abe's State Funeral Set For September 27
The Japanese government has decided to hold a state funeral for former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo on September 27 at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo.
Cabinet ministers made the decision on Friday, agreeing that Abe assumed a heavy responsibility as the country's longest-serving prime minister and made major achievements in domestic and foreign policy.
Abe was shot dead on July 8 while giving an election campaign speech in Nara City, western Japan.
Prime Minister Kishida Fumio will serve as funeral committee chairperson. The government will shoulder all expenses for the funeral.
The government has set up a secretariat in the Cabinet Office to flesh out the details of the funeral. Special adviser to the prime minister, Mori Masafumi, has been appointed as the head of the secretariat.
This will be the second state funeral for a former prime minister in Japan's postwar history following the one for Yoshida Shigeru, who died in 1967.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno Hirokazu told reporters after the Cabinet meeting that the state funeral will be non-religious and should be solemn and heartfelt. He says the government will promptly prepare for the service in close coordination with people involved.
He said the government will accept foreign dignitaries at the funeral and inform countries that have diplomatic ties with Japan of the ceremony's schedule and the venue.