Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Approximately a thousand demonstrators gathered in the busy Shinjuku shopping district of Tokyo on Saturday to protest against the state funeral of former Prime Minister ABE Shinzo, which will be held at the end of September.

Protestors, including representatives of opposition political parties, denounced Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio’s decision to grant Abe a state funeral, and vehemently condemned Abe’s ties to the Unification Church.

Abe was assassinated in July by a man who accused the former prime minister of supporting the Unification Church. The mother of Abe’s Killer has been a follower of the cult and was reportedly pressured by them into donating nearly a million dollars to the church which led to the bankruptcy of the family. 

Attention of the Japanese media has focused on the cult links with politicians since the assassination causing Prime Minister Kishida to order his ministers to clarify their relationship with the Unification Church. This has disclosed deep ties between a wide range of Japanese politicians, mostly members of the government and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party who used the unification church as a voting machine for getting them elected to the parliament. 

Demonstrators said the cost of the funeral, about US$2 million, should not be spent on that funeral. 

Among the protesters, a group denounced the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education’s decision opposing the government’s recommendation to fly flags at half-mast.