EPA
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News from the NOS•yesterday, 22:52
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Anoma van der Veere
Japan correspondent
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Anoma van der Veere
Japan correspondent
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“It is ridiculous that this man is having a state funeral,” said one of the hundreds of protesters gathered outside the busy Shinjuku station in central Tokyo. Tomorrow is the state funeral of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was shot dead, but the shock of the attack two months ago has now turned into anger. However, he is not aimed at the attacker, but at the political party that the former prime minister has led for years.
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Tetsuya Yamagami, the man who shot former Prime Minister Abe in the middle of the street during an election speech, said he did so because of ties between the politician and the Unification Church, a religious sect better known as the Moonies. The author’s mother is said to have been forced to donate large sums to the church, leaving the family in poverty.
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It was therefore inconvenient for the Liberal Democratic Party, the ruling party of Japan, for this accusation to prove true. Not only Abe, but his father and grandfather also had close ties to the cult. Almost half of the party’s MPs even seem to have some connection with the Moonies. More than 60 percent of Japanese are now opposed to state funerals.
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Loved abroad, hated at home
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World leaders gather to participate in ceremonies and express their support for Japan. In the neighborhood where the funeral takes place, many streets have been closed and other police officers are walking along the street. US Vice President Kamala Harris and Indian President Narendra Modi are on the guest list. For the Netherlands, Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra will come to Tokyo.
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International media often speak positively of the legacy of the former prime minister. But the contrast between his international appreciation and his domestic popularity is striking. “It’s controversial in Japan,” said Koichi Nakano, a political science professor at Sophia University in Tokyo. “Since Prime Minister Kishida decided not to hold a state funeral until two months after his death, the Japanese people have had a good deal of time to think about what exactly Abe has accomplished.”
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The conclusion: not very good. “Favoritism, corruption scandals, contempt for democratic principles and the constitution, etc. The fact that Mr. Abe also had a close relationship with the Unification Church was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” explains Nakano.
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Around the corner from the funeral, protesters hold up signs with slogans like “Abe is a follower of a sect!” and “This funeral is an advertisement for the Unification Church.” In unison they shout “stop the funeral!”
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The funeral legitimizes a cult
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Yasuo Kawai is a lawyer in Tokyo and has now represented dozens of Unification Church victims in court. “They are exploiters,” he says. “One of my clients was a rich man, a multi-house real estate agent. He moved slowly to the church. He lost his houses, his car and eventually his family, and ended up in debt. It all went to church. “. According to Kawai, it’s not uncommon for this to happen, “I’ve heard the story of the attacker’s mother too many times. The Moonies are unscrupulous.”
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It is therefore extremely painful for the victims that Abe receives a state funeral. “This increases the prestige of the Church, which can be said to be influential and that membership brings benefits,” explains Kawai.
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More expensive than Elizabeth II’s funeral
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The ties between MPs and Moonies aren’t the only reason the Japanese have turned against the state funeral. “You can’t imagine, but this funeral costs more than the Queen of England’s funeral,” says one of the protesters accusingly. It is a popular accusation among those who oppose the funeral. “That money could have gone to us too. The Japanese people,” she continues, frustrated.
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According to the government, the ceremony will cost more than 11 million euros.
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