Shinzo Abe and the Unification Church (1) State funeral will be the "first postwar" state ceremony other than the emperor

Since the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, how to mourn the former Prime Minister has become a focus of attention from all walks of life. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida expressed his intention to hold a state funeral for Shinzo Abe after he was assassinated, and the decision has now been finalized. However, Japan has not held a state funeral since 1967, and there are no relevant provisions for state funerals in Japan's current laws and regulations.

As the date of the state funeral (9/27) is approaching, the opposition and approval of various polls are close to five or five waves , and the opposition is gradually increasing . Weekly Wenchun even made an opposition that was more than 4 times the number of votes in favor. the results of the questionnaire survey. Among the various polls, the most noteworthy phenomenon is that the younger generation under the age of 40 supports a slightly higher proportion of holding a state funeral for Abe Shinzo.

It is less than 2 weeks before the state funeral of Shinzo Abe. Why has the criticism of this state funeral still not subsided, and what is the significance of the state funeral in contemporary times?

*Editor's Note: Correctly speaking, Shinzo Abe's "state funeral" should be called "state funeral", but this article is used to refer to it as a state funeral, unless it is to emphasize the particularity of "state funeral" State Funeral".

Abe's State Funeral

On July 8, 2022, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was tragically assassinated while giving a street speech on the streets of Nara for the upcoming senatorial election. The current Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, immediately stated in the next week (7/14) that since Shinzo Abe is the Prime Minister with the longest term (8 years and 8 months) in the history of Japan's constitutional government, he will assist in the post-disaster recovery of the 311 East Japan Earthquake, Japan's economic regeneration and diplomacy. There have been achievements in all aspects, and he intends to hold a " state funeral " for Shinzo Abe, opening a way for Shinzo Abe's state funeral.

Subsequently, in the decision of the cabinet meeting on July 22, it was determined that on the holiday of September 27, the Honbudokan would hold a "state funeral" (state funeral) for Abe Shinzo with state expenses .

💡 What is the cabinet decision?

"Cabinet decision" refers to a decision made by the cabinet, which holds executive power, within its purview in accordance with Article 65 of the Japanese Constitution and Article 4 of the Cabinet Law. In practice, the cabinet decision must be unanimously agreed by all cabinet members before a final decision can be made. If one person objects, the bid will be dismissed.

The original design of "Cabinet Decision" was designed to allow the Cabinet to omit the legislative process of Congress and to quickly pass time-sensitive bills. In recent years, especially during the reign of Shinzo Abe, he has bypassed the Diet many times, using the "Cabinet Decision" to pass major or controversial motions (eg: lifting the right to collective self-defense ( collective self-defense ), adding the suspicion of Gakuen , extending the Tokyo High Prosecutor Hiromo Kurokawa's retirement years ), sparking criticism of "excessive concentration of power in the cabinet, and the prime minister relying on 'cabinet decisions' to monopolize power".

According to Fumio Kishida at the press conference on August 31, there are 4 reasons why Shinzo Abe deserves a state funeral:

1. In the democratic backbone of the national political elections, he won 6 times, setting a prime minister's term of 8 years and 8 months, the longest in the history of Japan's constitutional government.
2. Leaving historic achievements in diplomacy and economy
3. Princes, nobles and political leaders from all over the world are interested in coming to Japan to express their condolences to Shinzo Abe
4. Shot dead in Democratic base election speech

More details on this part of the argument will be given later.

State Funerals and State Funerals

Fumio Kishida used the term "state funeral", which has political significance - because according to current Japanese regulations, there is currently no "state funeral" in Japan, so a new vocabulary must be created to emphasize the difference between "state funeral" and "state funeral". different.

Regarding this point, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida answered quite clearly in his reply to the Senate: Japan currently does not have regulations on state funerals, and the affairs in charge of the Cabinet Office include state ceremonies, so "state funerals" are defined as a kind of state ceremony (state funeral).の ceremony), the Cabinet Office can decide to hold a national ceremony through the cabinet decision of the executive power.

The first postwar state ceremony other than the emperor

In fact, at present, only the emperor's state affairs are classified as "national ceremonies". So far, the earthquake memorial ceremonies held by the Cabinet Office in accordance with the " Cabinet Office Establishment Act ", or the "contract burial" of a former prime minister (described later), are classified as "Cabinet's Rites and Actions" (Cabinet's Rites and Actions). If Shinzo Abe's "state funeral" is elevated to the level of "state ceremony", it will be the first "state ceremony" in Japan other than the emperor's state affairs after the war .

Aside from the fact that Shinzo Abe's "state funeral" will create the history of "the first in post-war history", Fumio Kishida did not actually respond to the outside world's doubts about the basis of the law . , the government has the right to decide through the cabinet to hold state ceremonies.

All these disputes should start from the historical context of state funerals in Japan, as well as the funerals of successive prime ministers.

meaning of state funeral

Many countries in the world (including Taiwan) have state burials, and the legal basis or historical meaning of the term "state funeral" varies in different countries.

Taking Taiwan as an example, there is indeed a " State Funeral Law " in the current regulations of the Republic of China, but the "State Funeral Law" has not been used since it was revised in 1948. The reason is that Article 7 of the State Funeral Law states: "The Ministry of the Interior shall, in conjunction with the municipal government where the capital is located, set up a state funeral cemetery at a designated location in the capital and submit it to the Executive Yuan for approval." Xie (where is the capital of the Republic of China?) decided not to hold a state funeral until the counterattack on the mainland. Therefore, whether it is the Chiang Kai-shek, former President Lee Teng-hui, or other figures who have contributed to Taiwan, they can only be handled according to the state funeral specifications.

Taking Taiwan as an example, I want to emphasize that "state funeral" seems to be a concept that exists in various countries. As long as it is a funeral service for a country and organized by the country, it is a state funeral. But we still have to go back and look at the relevant laws and regulations of the country. How do you define a state funeral? Is it still possible to hold state funerals? It is still a "quasi state funeral" that can only "compare with state funeral specifications".

Okubo Toshinori and Iwakura Yuki during the Taizheng Official System

Looking back at the history of state funerals in Japan, it can be traced back to Okubo Toshinori who was assassinated in 1878.

As the first interior secretary of the Meiji government, Okubo Toshinori was in charge of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. His rank was essentially equivalent to that of the prime minister after the abolition of the Taizheng official system and the establishment of the cabinet system in 1885. At that time, Ito Hirobumi believed that the ruling foundation of the Meiji government was not stable enough. In order to let the world know that it was wrong to oppose the government and assassinate government officials, he held a grand public funeral for Okubo Toshinori, which was considered to be the prototype of a state funeral.

But the first state funeral had to wait until Iwakura 's funeral in 1883. Iwakura Yuki and the aforementioned Okubo Toshinori were both patriots who promoted the Meiji Restoration ( restoration の ten heroes ). At that time, Japan was still implementing the Taizheng official system. After the highest minister of the right, Iwakura, after his death, the Taizheng minister decided to hold a state ceremony for him, becoming the first state funeral hosted by the state and paid for by the state in Japanese history.

After the promulgation of the "State Funeral Order"

Professor Junichi Miyoma of Chuo University, author of the book " The Establishment of State Funerals " and familiar with the history of state funerals, pointed out that after that, Japan changed from the Taizheng official system to the cabinet system. If a state funeral is to be held, the cabinet first decides the applicable objects, and then hands it over. The Emperor makes the final decision. The state funeral held for Mijo Sanjo in 1891established the state funeral process of "given by the emperor", and spread information through the news, and local schools and shrines will also jointly hold memorial ceremonies.

The " State Funeral Order " promulgated by the emperor in 1926 further established the applicable object of the state funeral, that is, the royal family or those who have contributed to the country.In practice , the meaning of a state funeral is "an occasion for the emperor and the people to mourn the death of a hero." Those who receive a state funeral are those chosen by heaven and given by the emperor, and the citizens must obey the state funeral ceremony. Therefore, the state funeral under the system of the Empire of Japan not only has the effect of uniting the people and achieving the unity of the people, but also has the function of unified thought and speech.

State funeral with high political significance

Professor Junichi Miyama alsopointed out that the state funerals of Ito Hirobumi and Yamamoto Gosoku are two fairly representative cases. Because these two state funerals are of high political significance.

In 1909, Ito Hirobumi, who served as the first commander-in-chief of the Korean Commander-in-Chief Office (which became the Korean Governor-General's Office after the merger of Japan and South Korea), was assassinated by the Korean independence activist Ahn Chung-geun in Harbin, northeastern China in 1909. Ito Bowen served as the unified supervisor of the South Korean Unification Office, representing the position of supporting the merger of Japan and South Korea (Japan's annexation of the Korean peninsula), while Ahn Chung-geun represented North Korea's independence. The day after the assassination of Ito Hirobumi, then Prime Minister Katsura Taro immediately decided to hold a state funeral for Ito Hirobumi through a cabinet meeting. At that time, not only a state funeral was held in Tokyo Hibiya Park, but also a mourning ceremony was held on the Korean Peninsula. At that time, it was Emperor Junjong of the Korean Empire who attended the condolences to Ito Bowen, which was like telling the people of the Korean peninsula that it was wrong to assassinate the general supervisor and denying the legitimacy of the independence movement. At the same time, the assassination of the moderate Ito Hirobumi also stimulated radicals in Japan who advocated the annexation of the Korean peninsula. The following year (1910), Japan annexed the Korean Peninsula and made it a colony.

As for Yamamoto, the commander of the Japanese Navy Combined Fleet who died in the battle in 1943, his state funeral was during the period when the Japanese army was defeated and the war was not good. The general public should also actively contribute to the political significance of the war. In fact, Yamamoto fifty-six was also the first ordinary civilian who did not have royal or Chinese identity during his lifetime and received a state funeral.

Since the "State Funeral Order" was originally an edict issued directly by the emperor, after the war, with the implementation of the new "Japanese Constitution" in Japan, the actual power of the Japanese emperor was weakened, and the Japanese emperor essentially became a virtual head of state. Or the order will be invalid, and the "State Funeral Order" will also enter into history.

State Funeral and Rebirth in History

With the end of World War II and the formulation of a new version of the constitution in Japan, the "State Funeral Order", which was an imperial edict, became invalid. Before the new law was enacted, except for the " Royal Model ", Japan did not have a state funeral norm for civilians in the legal system.

Empress Zhenming's Empress Dowager Mourning

The first time Japan encountered the problem of state funerals after the war was in 1951 when Empress Sadamei, the mother of Emperor Showa, passed away. Originally, according to the "State Funeral Order", Empress Zhenming was also eligible for a state funeral. However, according to Article 25 of the new " Royal Model ", only when the emperor dies will a large funeral ceremony be held.

The twenty-fifth article of the emperor's death is じたときは, and the ceremony of the great funeral.

Although they did not hold a state funeral for Empress Zhenming at that time, they used the royal family's public budget (court fees) to hold the "Grand Empress Dowager Funeral" for Empress Zhenming, which was based on the standard of a state funeral .

The (soon not to be) postwar state funeral

Immediately after that, the next state funeral was the state funeral of former Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida in 1967. This is the "last state funeral" before Abe's official funeral.

In fact, after Empress Zhenming passed away in 1951, there have been discussions about state funerals, especially for people outside the royal family, how should state funerals be implemented after the war? At that time (in the early 1960s), the Japanese cabinet also set up an official system liaison investigation meeting (formal system liaison investigation meeting ) to discuss how to conduct state funerals. Although it was agreed at the meeting that the issue of state funerals should be resolved through legislation, the meeting was unable to reach a consensus. They did not know how to set the standards for state funerals.

While everyone was still discussing, former Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida passed away in 1967. The then Prime Minister Eisaku Sato decided to hold the "first post-war state funeral" for Shigeru Yoshida through an emergency cabinet decision. The method is exactly like Fumio Kishida's decision to hold a "state funeral" for Shinzo Abe.

There is no legal basis, and there is a consensus not to hold a state funeral before legislation

Shusuke Maeda, who once published a paper on the post-war state funeral, pointed out that the legal interpretation of Shigeru Yoshida's state funeral was an opinion put forward by the Cabinet Legislative Affairs Bureau earlier. At that time, the Legislative Affairs Bureau of the Cabinet believed that the state funeral was basically a part of the administrative function and belonged to the jurisdiction of the cabinet. In theory, holding a state funeral did not require the legal basis in the Constitution. The responsibility rested with the cabinet, and a state funeral could be held by decree. However, there is a caveat behind this: although the Cabinet Legislative Affairs Bureau believes that whether to hold a state funeral is the responsibility of the cabinet, it is better to pass legislation through the National Assembly and then implement it by the cabinet.

In fact, at that time, through the decision of the cabinet, it was decided to hold a state funeral for Yoshida Shigeru, which indeed caused a backlash, thinking that there was no legal basis. This is also one of the reasons why a state funeral was not held after Shigeru Yoshida: it is not appropriate to hold a state funeral before legislation.

As a result, the former Prime Minister Eisaku Sato (1901-1975), who passed away after Shigeru Yoshida (1878-1967), even if Eisaku Sato won the Nobel Peace Prize, set the record for the "longest term of the Prime Minister" at that time. Sato Eisaku's funeral Nor is it a state funeral, but a "national funeral" (national funeral). After the death of Masahiro Ohira (1910-1980), it was established that after the death of the former prime minister, the "contract funeral" (contract funeral) was jointly held by the cabinet and the political party to which he belonged.

A turning point between Shigeru Yoshida and Eisaku Sato

In fact, when Sato Eisaku passed away in 1975, Yoshikuni Ichiro, the then Cabinet Minister for Legislative Affairs, told the then Prime Minister Takeo Miki that a state funeral could not be held under the current legal system. agree. This is also the reason why the Miki Takeo regime decided to hold a state funeral instead of Sato Eisaku.

The Asahi Shimbun reported that Shigeru Yoshida could hold a state funeral at that time, but Eisaku Sato only had a national funeral eight years later. Another key factor was the attitude of the opposition party. When Shigeru Yoshida passed away, Eisaku Sato asked Nao Sonoda, then deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, to persuade the Socialist Party, the largest party in opposition at the time. Eight years later, it was Sato Eisaku's turn to pass away. At that time, the opposition party expressed its opposition to the state funeral very early. In addition, the government and opposition were evenly matched, so the ruling party did not dare to tear up with the opposition party for the state funeral.

 Prime Minister and Year of Death｜Form of Funeral｜State Expenditure (Proportion of Government Pay)

Shigeru Yoshida (1967)｜State Funeral｜18.1 million yen (100%)
Sato Eisaku (1975)｜Cabinet, Liberal Democratic Party and the People's National Burial｜20.04 million yen (50%)
Masahiro Ohira (1980)｜The contract between the cabinet and the Liberal Democratic Party｜36.43 million yen (50%)
Nobusuke Kishi (1987)｜The contract between the cabinet and the Liberal Democratic Party｜45.1 million yen (50%)
Takeo Miki (1988)｜A contract between the House of Representatives and the Cabinet｜118.7 million yen (100%)
Takeo Fukuda (1995)｜A contract between the cabinet and the Liberal Democratic Party｜73.34 million yen (50%)
Keizo Obuchi (2000)｜The contract between the cabinet and the Liberal Democratic Party｜75.55 million yen (50%)
Yoshiyuki Suzuki (2004)｜The contract between the cabinet and the Liberal Democratic Party｜54.49 million yen (50%)
Ryutaro Hashimoto (2006)｜A contract between the cabinet and the Liberal Democratic Party｜77.03 million yen (50%)
Kiichi Miyazawa (2007)｜A contract between the cabinet and the Liberal Democratic Party｜75.85 million yen (50%)
Yasuhiro Nakasone (2020)｜A contract between the Cabinet and the Liberal Democratic Party｜79.59 million yen (50%)
Shinzo Abe (2022)｜State Funeral｜(Estimated) 1,659.4 million yen (100%)

Looking at the argument against holding a state funeral for Shinzo Abe, the reasons are nothing more than:

1. Lack of legal basis
2. The question of money: Shinzo Abe's state funeral uses the full amount of taxes and the taxes paid by the citizens. Should the opinions of the taxpayers (aka the citizens) be listened to? This also extends to the "condolence diplomacy" advocated by Fumio Kishida, which does not seem to have achieved the expected effect at present. There are fewer foreign politicians willing to come to express condolences than expected, and it will also affect the voter's opinion of holding a state funeral for Shinzo Abe. will.

The logical fallacy of holding a state funeral for Shinzo Abe

Returning to the controversial point of the state funeral, one of the big reasons why Fumio Kishida's response this time could not win the trust of the people is that the logic does not make sense.

(1) There is no reason for the longest term of office of the Prime Minister

First of all, Fumio Kishida advocated that Shinzo Abe set the longest tenure as prime minister of 8 years and 8 months in Japanese constitutional history, so a state funeral should be held for Shinzo Abe. But as mentioned earlier, Sato Eisaku did indeed set the record for the "longest post-war prime minister tenure" that year. He also had a Nobel Peace Prize, but he did not hold a state funeral for him. There is no other reason. In the absence of legal basis, even what records the Prime Minister has set during his tenure in office are not enough to justify a state funeral. If you really want to hold a state funeral for someone, you should pass the law as soon as possible while you are in office, instead of delaying it for 70 years without completing the legislation. Not only that, even before the war, when the "State Funeral Order" was still in effect, Kataro set the record for "the longest-serving prime minister" (it is still the second longest after Shinzo Abe), and he did not receive a state funeral for this.

(2) Foreign dignitaries intending to offer condolences does not mean that a state funeral should be held

Second, the world's kings, nobles and political leaders intend to go to Japan to express their condolences to Shinzo Abe, which does not constitute a reason for holding a state funeral. Because according to the existing contract burial model of the cabinet + affiliated party, foreign dignitaries can still go to Japan for mourning. Therefore, we cannot and should not use foreign dignitaries wanting to pay tribute to Shinzo Abe as a reason for holding a state funeral. Holding a state funeral should have the deepest impact on the citizens of one's own country, and should put the citizens first.

(3) Shinzo Abe was not the only one who was assassinated during the election

Third, it was decided to hold a state funeral for Shinzo Abe on the grounds that Shinzo Abe was shot during his election speech. But in fact, many politicians were assassinated long before Abe Shinzo, and most of the incidents were due to incompatible political ideas. Being killed during the campaign does not warrant a state funeral. For example, in 1960, Asanuma Inujiro, the chairman of the Socialist Party, was stabbed while he was giving a speech to the leaders of the three parties on the eve of the House of Representatives re-election at the Tokyo Hibiya Public Hall; During this period, in front of his campaign office, he was shot and killed by a violent group when he just got off the election car. Both Asanuma Inujiro and Ito Kazuma were killed during the election campaign, but this does not constitute a reason for being awarded a state funeral. Even before the war, when the "State Funeral Order" was still in effect, Yuan Jing, then the 19th Prime Minister of the Cabinet, was stabbed while in office in 1921 and was not given a state funeral .

(4) Failure to unravel the relationship between Abe and the Unification Church

If it is because of "Shinzo Abe was shot and killed in his election speech", he thinks that Toru Yamagami is also destroying the democratic electoral system. Tetsuya Yamagami's motive for the crime is that Shinzo Abe has a close interaction with the Unification Church, which has now been renamed "World Peace and Unification Family Unity". If Unification Church is regarded as a cult organization or a controversial religious group, should it be compared? To handle, thoroughly check the relationship between political figures of the Unification Church? Are heretical or cult organizations linked to political parties, aren't they also "murderers" who undermine the democratic system?

Violence is truly reprehensible. If it can be proved that the Liberal Democratic Party or Shinzo Abe is really upright and candid, Toruya Yamagami's shooting of Shinzo Abe is of course the "only bad guy" who undermines the democratic electoral system. However, until the relationship between politicians (especially Shinzo Abe) and the Unification Church has not been thoroughly investigated, it would be too early to draw a conclusion to directly regard Toruya Yamagami as the only "bad guy" in the whole tragedy.

The historian Junichi Miyama mentioned earlierpointed out that holding a state funeral for Shinzo Abe this time is logically a condemnation of the violence that occurred during the election campaign representing democracy, but at present, according to Fumio Kishida, it is impossible to draw an "intent". The terrorist attack that undermined democracy led to the death of Shinzo Abe.” After all, Yamagami’s motive for the crime was not the democratic system, but the relationship between specific politicians and specific heresy groups. Taking a step back, if you understand the significance of state funerals for Japan before the war and during World War II, you will know that the concept of state funerals is at odds with post-war Japan's "people-oriented" democracy.

This comeback of the "state funeral" is also an excellent opportunity for Japan to rethink what a "state funeral" is.

What is the meaning of the state funeral in the contemporary era?

The aforementioned Shusuke Maeda pointed out that after Shigeru Yoshida's state funeral, there were several politicians who had served as prime ministers who did not hold public funerals after their deaths. Reasons for not being held include:

1. The party he belonged to at the time of his death was not the ruling party (Example: Tsuzuki Haneda)
2. Being caught in negative news at the time of death (Example: Kakuei Tanaka)
3. No special political achievements during his lifetime (Example: Tokura Higashikura)
4. The intention of the person during his lifetime (Example: Nori Takeshita)

It can be seen that whether the Prime Minister will hold a public funeral when he dies does not only depend on the Prime Minister's political achievements during his lifetime, but timing is also a very important factor. If, for the current regime in power, holding a public funeral for this person can assert the legitimacy of the regime externally and have a certain effect internally, there is a high motivation to hold a public funeral for the deceased.

Does it violate the constitutional principle of equality?

In the absence of legal basis, a state funeral will actually lead to many problems.

Constitutional scholar Kimura Kusota pointed out that if the government has no way of citing the reason why it only held a state funeral for Shinzo Abe, it would violate the principle of equality in the Constitution. Article 14 of the Japanese Constitution guarantees that all citizens are equal under the law. Although Fumio Kishida said that Shinzo Abe had meritorious service during his tenure, the merits and demerits of the prime minister should be evaluated by an objective third-party organization. Any policy or achievement will have a good side or a bad side. Whether Shinzo Abe really has a better performance than the previous prime ministers needs to be evaluated by an impartial third party independent of politics, not the current prime minister. count.

Article 14: Nationality, equality, race, creed, gender, social status, political, and social relations, and differences.
2 The system of the nobility of the Chinese family is は, こ れ を め な い.
3 栄 Yu, 勲 Zhang そ の の 栄 Code の grant は, い か な る は な い.栄code's conferring は, present に れ を し, and は future こ れ を け る の generation に limited り, そ の effect を 有 す る.

At present, Fumio Kishida defines a state funeral as "an official national ceremony to express respect and condolences to the whole country." Kusota Kimura believes that the whole country refers to all citizens, and this definition will infringe on the freedom of thought and expression of the people. If the state funeral is only a part of the nationals who want to express their condolences, it is not an official national ceremony, but a private one; if this part of the nationals refers to the cabinet, it can only be called a cabinet funeral, not a state funeral.

Will it infringe on individual liberty?

In addition, Kimura Kusita also questioned whether the state funeral will be fully paid by the state. Is it in the public interest? Or is the state funeral just a reason to justify the use of public funds? At present, Fumio Kishida and other cabinet members are just relying on reminding the world of the achievements of Shinzo Abe, hoping to arouse the consensus of the public, but arousing the subjective feelings of the public is not a public interest, and this should have exceeded the " Cabinet Office Establishment Act " expressly stipulated Within the jurisdiction of the Cabinet Office, there are also concerns about infringing on people's freedom of belief.

This is also one of the dissenting voices in this state funeral dispute. During the state funeral of Shigeru Yoshida in 1967, public institutions and public schools were requested to rest, and many private enterprises also observed a moment of silence because of the boss's personal intentions. At the national funeral of Sato Eisaku in 1975, the Yamaguchi Prefecture Board of Education required schools to raise the " hanging flag " (Editor's note: The golden ball at the top of the flagpole is covered with black cloth, and a black piece of length equal to the long side of the national flag must be tied when raising the national flag. cloth, and then the flag is raised at half mast. This is a ceremony only at the national funeral in Japan.) It has also sparked protests from faculty and staff, believing that this has violated the freedom of personal thought. Two years ago (2020) in Sone Yasuhiro's contract burial, the government sent a letter asking public universities to raise the "hanging flag", triggering a backlash against academic freedom violations.

In fact, news of Shinzo Abe's home festival in July this year has already spread in Tokyo, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Suita City, Osaka Prefecture and other places, requiring public schools to lower their flags at half-mast. In this regard, the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Koshiko Nagaoka said at a press conference that the local government or the Education Commission (equivalent to the Education Bureau) will not ask schools to cooperate with Abe's state funeral, expressing condolences.

People in a democratic society have the right to say no

The historian Junichi Miyama mentioned earlier reminded that a similar situation will happen this time. The main body of a democratic society should be all citizens. If a state funeral is to be held now, what is the most suitable modern state funeral? This needs to be discussed in Congress. In the absence of a state funeral implementation law, there is no set of standards for holding a state funeral, and the state cannot compel all citizens to obey the instructions. The public should also know clearly that everyone has the right to say no.

Having said that, postwar state funerals will actually be very different from those before the end of World War II. Junichi Miyama took the state funeral of Shigeru Yoshida as an example . He pointed out that the state funerals before the war and during World War II forced all citizens to observe silence; but Shigeru Yoshida's state funeral, although a large number of people including the royal family went to Tokyo and Japan Flowers were laid at the Budokan (more than 35,000 people visited that night), public competitive competitions were suspended for a day, entertainment programs on TV were suspended, and horns were honked all over the country, but unlike the past, people who opposed the state funeral could be seen on the streets. Street speech or hanging billboards. If the people can express their disapproval on the day of the state funeral, it is a sound democratic society.

What precedent will Shinzo Abe's state funeral set?

Seeing that the state funeral of Shinzo Abe is approaching, if there is no accident, it will be held as scheduled, creating the history of Japan's first "national ceremony" other than the emperor's state affairs after the war . Not only that, but from Shinzo Abe's family funeral in July this year, it can actually be expected that this state funeral "beyond 55 years" will not only set a precedent, but also have other issues that may affect other aspects.

(1) Privatizing public property again?

The "Tokyo Shimbun" reported that on July 12 this year, Shinzo Abe sent an honor guard of the Ground Self-Defense Force to participate in the family ceremony at Zojoji Temple in Minato Ward, Tokyo. The so-called honor guard is composed of self-defense officers and honors the emperor, prime minister, and state guests. Since Shigeru Yoshida's state funeral in 1967, there have been 11 state funerals or contract funerals for prime ministers in the past. There is indeed a guard of honor at public funerals, but there is no family funeral. In the past, honor guards would appear at home festivals, only the former head of the Defense Agency's home festival, and so far there have been only 3 cases.

The top head of the Ground Self-Defense Force, Keixi Yoshida, the land chief of staff also confirmed at a press conference on the 6th of this month that it was the judgment of the level of the Minister of Defense at that time, and the Ground Self-Defense Force just obeyed the instructions to carry out the task. The defense minister at the time was Nobuo Kishi, the younger brother of Shinzo Abe. The current Minister of Defense, Yasuichi Hamada, said that based on Article 6 of the Self -Defense Forces Act , the ceremony of the Self-Defense Forces is in accordance with the regulations of the Ministry of Defense, so as long as the intention of the bereaved family is confirmed, an honor guard can be sent to attend. As for which bereaved family's intention was followed, there was no further indication.

This has raised doubts about whether the Abe family will privatize public resources again. As mentioned earlier, Shinzo Abe used the "cabinet decision" many times during his administration to pass major or controversial bills, such as the Kaji Academy's suspicions and the extension of the retirement period of Tokyo High Prosecutor Hiromo Kurokawa . Moriyou Academy's state-owned land sale case and cherry blossom viewing club (桜を見る会) fraud case, are also representatives of the privatization of public resources: the use of existing resources in the public sector, "hospitality", provides self-friendly, self-friendly Some discounts for people around.

Whether the Self-Defense Forces will follow suit in the future, and whether they will send honor guards to attend the former prime minister's home funeral when the previous prime ministers pass away, is worthy of attention.

(2) State funerals may deify Shinzo Abe

As mentioned above, Fumio Kishida quoted the "Cabinet Office Setting Law" this time to elevate Shinzo Abe's "state funeral" to the level of "national ceremony", creating the first "national ceremony" in Japan other than the emperor's state affairs after the war. History. Some people worry that the move will prompt conservatives to further deify Abe, elevating Abe's rank from a former prime minister to a level on an equal footing with the emperor. For example, Hirofumi Uchida, an honorary professor at Kyushu University, is worried that holding a state funeral for Shinzo Abe is also promoting the remarks that deify Shinzo Abe, which will help the Liberal Democratic Party to consolidate its power, and at the same time promote the reform of the Constitution that Shinzo Abe had in mind during his lifetime. .

From another point of view, before the relationship between Shinzo Abe and the Unification Church is resolved and broken, rashly holding a state funeral for Abe Shinzo may further fuel the momentum within the Unification Church. Lawyer Go Lu Zhengji, who is familiar with Unification Church's discourse, pointed out that for Unification Church believers, Shinzo Abe is still living in the spiritual world, and Abe is the chosen person to fight against the forces of "Satan" in the human world and obtain God's help; To hold a state funeral for Abe under such circumstances is to promote the illegal or improper behavior of the Unification Church.

(3) The ex-prime minister's public funeral expenses broke a new high

The last point is more pragmatic, and it is the question of money.

The Japanese government's first public budget (8/26) was 249 million yen, which included 210 million yen for the venue setup fee, and about 30 million yen for the rental of Nippon Budokan and buses. This cost is already three times the 79.59 million yen spent on the contract burial of Sone Yasuhiro in mid-2020, and the contract burial of Nakasone Yasuhiro two years ago was paid in half by the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japanese government.

On September 6, Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno Hiroichi further added 1.41 billion yen to the budget, of which 800 million yen is used for security, 600 million yen is used to transport overseas VIPs, and 10 million yen is used as the vehicle fee for the honor guard of the Self-Defense Forces. The cost of Shinzo Abe's state funeral has soared by 6.6 times, to 1.66 billion yen, triggering a further rebound.

Given that Shinzo Abe's death is related to the lack of security, it is expected that dignitaries from various countries will attend Shinzo Abe's state funeral, and it is necessary to strengthen security. Compared with the security cost of about 3.8 billion yen for the "Enthronement Ceremony" when the current Emperor Naruhito ascended the throne in 2019, and about 2.4 billion yen for the "Grand Funeral Ceremony" when the Emperor Showa passed away in 1989, Shinzo Abe's state funeral security cost It doesn't look particularly expensive. However, the full set of ceremonies for Emperor Naruhito's ascension to the throne is not like Shinzo Abe's state funeral, which was only one day long. At that time, more than 200 VIPs from various countries came to the "Enthronement Ceremony". This time, Shinzo Abe's state funeral may only have 50 dignitaries. This Is the cost more or less? Hard to assess.

However, this time, the state funeral of Shinzo Abe was marked by the company ムラヤマ.ムラヤマ is Shinzo Abe, who has bid for the cherry blossom viewing party for 5 consecutive years since 2014, and is also the event company that bid for the contract funeral of Sone Yasuhiro in 2020. Although the current statement of Fumio Kishida and Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroichi Matsuno is that only this company bids, there is no suspicion of favoring specific manufacturers. It remains to be seen whether the questioning voice of "Why is it always ムラヤマ" will get bigger and bigger.

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This article is simultaneously published in the Japanese current affairs まとめ translation of Kaori Ishikawa .