Japan: Former PM Abe’s funeral to cost more than Queen Elizabeth II’s?

Japanese former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s state funeral has become a point of contention in the country, as hundreds of people have been protesting for months calling for the event to be cancelled. Meanwhile, Abe’s state funeral costs are now being compared to the funeral services held for the recently departed UK’s longest reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II.

While the actual total cost of the Queen's funeral, held earlier this month, has not been disclosed, several sources have cited the Daily Mirror, a British national daily tabloid, who reported the estimated figure of £8 million or 1.3 billion yen. This is in comparison to the cost of the former prime minister’s upcoming state funeral which is to be held next week and is set to cost the Japanese government at least 1.66 billion, said the media reports.

The debate surrounding Abe’s state funeral has been going on for months and has triggered a string of protests and demonstrations in Japan. Meanwhile, people have also highlighted the cost of the Tokyo Olympics which cost the country, $13 billion which was reportedly double the amount they estimated for the event.

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Some even questioned the state funeral’s legality saying that since they have been historically reserved for the emperor. Furthermore, the decision to hold Abe’s funeral was made by the cabinet and did not even go through parliamentary approval, indicated media reports.

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The upcoming funeral has also been dubbed “funeral diplomacy”. The three-day event will see the presence of 700 guests from 217 countries, and leaders including prime ministers of India and Australia, Narendra Modi and Anthony Albanese, and US vice president Kamala Harris.

According to a report by the Guardian, the Japanese government estimated the cost of the state funeral to be 250 million yen. Meanwhile, the policing of the event would cost approximately 800 million yen, said chief cabinet secretary, Hirokazu Matsuno, while hosting the dignitaries of various countries is expected to cost at least 600 million yen. He added the cost may reach up to $1.7 billion yen.

Abe was Japan's longest-serving prime minister who was assassinated earlier this year in July. Several polls in the country have indicated that over 50% of people are against the state funeral citing different reasons. A survey by the Kyodo news agency said that more than 70% of participants have said that the government is spending too much money on the funeral. Another poll by Mainichi newspaper said that at least 62% of people are opposed to the upcoming state funeral.

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This comes amid some 12 municipalities in Japan issuing statements calling for the state funeral to be cancelled. Earlier this week, a man set himself ablaze in protest near the incumbent Japanese PM Fumio Kishida’s office. While Abe’s death was a shock to most, he is set to become the second PM in the history of Japan to receive a state funeral.

Many have opposed the upcoming funeral predominantly because the country is battling inflation for the time in decades and critics say that the money could be spent elsewhere like helping low-income families through this difficult time, the media reported.