TOKYO – The Japanese government officially decided Friday to hold a state funeral for slain former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a Tokyo arena on September 27, Kyodo news agency reported.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said at a press conference after the Cabinet decision that a secretariat was set up in the Cabinet Office to prepare for the event, to be held at the Nippon Budokan with foreign dignitaries invited.
It will be only the second state funeral held for a former prime minister in postwar Japan.
Fully funded by the government, the funeral will be secular and simple, according to Matsuno. The government does not plan to make September 27 a public holiday.
The secretariat has about 20 staffers and is headed by Masafumi Mori, a special adviser to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Japan will convey information about the coming state funeral to countries and regions that have sent condolence messages to Japan, including Taiwan, Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said.
