Opposition Party Requests Kishida's Explanation On Ex - Pm Abe's State Funeral
A senior official of Japan's leading opposition party has called for Prime Minister Kishida Fumio to appear before the Diet to explain why the government is holding a state funeral for former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo.
The Diet affairs chief of the Constitutional Democratic Party, Azumi Jun, made his request at a meeting with his Liberal Democratic Party counterpart, Takagi Tsuyoshi, on Monday.
Azumi told Takagi that the entire budget for the state funeral remains unclear and public opposition to the government-funded memorial service is strong.
Takagi is said to have responded that he acknowledged Azumi's request.
The Cabinet earlier decided to allocate about 1.8 million dollars from the reserve fund of this fiscal year's budget for the state funeral on September 27.
Some LDP members argue that Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno Hirokazu should be in charge of Diet deliberations on the state funeral. The ruling party is expected to coordinate with the government on how to respond to the opposition request.
Azumi told reporters that if Kishida refuses to explain his decision to use taxpayer money, the price he and the LDP will have to pay will be bigger than they imagine.
Azumi urged Kishida to be honest with the public.
Earlier on Monday, Azumi met his counterpart at the Japanese Communist Party and agreed that the two parties will cooperate on policies for which they can find common ground.