Former Japan PM Shinzo Abe's state funeral: What it will involve, who will attend

Thousands are expected to attend the formal burial of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on September 27. Abe was killed on July 8 in the city of Nara while giving a campaign address. The official funeral is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. on Tuesday at the Nippon Budokan in downtown Tokyo, and representatives from more than 217 nations and international organisations are expected to attend, according the Japan Times.

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On September 27, Abe will be laid to rest in what will be just the second state burial for a former prime minister in Japan since World War II. In 1967, one was hosted in honour of Shigeru Yoshida. Funeral services for other former prime ministers were held jointly by the Cabinet Office and the Liberal Democratic Party. After Abe's assassination on July 8, enhanced police security procedures were adopted, including sniffer dogs at railway stations and police patrols at airports in the Tokyo region.

The burial ceremony in Tokyo will be attended by several international dignitaries. The official funeral for former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will also meet with his successor, Fumio Kishida.

On Wednesday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno was quoted by the Japan Times as saying that the funeral planning committee has decided to set aside two flower offering stands in the park from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the day of the funeral, but the area around the Nippon Budokan will be off-limits to anyone other than invited guests due to security concerns.

The funeral will take around an hour and a half, after which the national anthem will be performed in a moment of silence in honour of the late Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is leading the funeral committee, will speak first, followed by Speaker of the House Hiroyuki Hosoda, Speaker of the House of Councilors Hidehisa Otsuji, Chief Justice Saburo Tokura, and former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who will speak on behalf of Abe's closest colleagues, according to Japan Times.

In addition, the Japanese imperial family will send representatives to Abe's state burial to express their condolences on their behalf. However, in keeping with tradition, Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako, Emperor Emeritus Akihito, and Empress Emerita Michiko will not be there.

According to the Japan Times, which cited anonymous sources, the Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko would be the first to lay sympathy flowers.

Final remarks will be made, and flowers will be laid, before Abe's remains are cremated and buried.

On July 8 in Nara, a city in Japan, Abe was shot. 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami approached the politician from behind and shot him twice from a distance of roughly 10 metres (33 feet).

The assailant allegedly spent over a year planning the murder of the former head of government, who was 67 at the time.

Hidetada Fukushima, the chief of emergency services at Nara Medical University Hospital, claimed that Abe was wounded twice in the front of the neck and that the fatal bullet had injured his heart and a major artery, leading to blood loss.

Dr. Fukushima said that when doctors were unable to stem the bleeding, they tried to provide a blood transfusion. After being shot at a campaign rally in western Japan, Shinzo Abe showed up at the hospital without a pulse or any other vital signs.

Abe, the longest-serving Prime Minister in Japanese history, resigned in 2020 due to health concerns. He served as Prime Minister of Japan twice, the first time from 2006–07 and the second time from 2012–20. Later, Fumio Kishida took over from him, and then Yoshihide Suga.

(With inputs from ANI)