[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] As the state funeral for former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is scheduled to be held this September, it has been reported that arrangements are being made for French President Emmanuel Macron, former U.S. President Barack Obama, and former German Chancellor Angela Merkel to attend, according to Fuji News Network (FNN) on the 9th.
FNN cited multiple Japanese government officials in its report. According to the report, the side of former President Obama has expressed a direct willingness to attend the state funeral. Obama was the first sitting U.S. president to visit the atomic bomb site in Hiroshima in 2016, and he formed a close bond with then-Prime Minister Abe by laying flowers at the memorial monument together during his tenure.
FNN also reported that arrangements are being made for President Macron and former Chancellor Merkel to attend.
The state funeral for former Prime Minister Abe is scheduled to take place on the 27th of next month at the Nippon Budokan in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, Japan. The Japanese government is monitoring the COVID-19 infection situation and is adjusting the number of attendees to 6,000. This is a scale similar to the state funeral of former Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida (1878?1967), who died in 1967.
Public opinion in Japan is divided over the state funeral for former Prime Minister Abe. In response, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reiterated on the 7th that the state funeral is appropriate, emphasizing, "Various countries around the world are expressing condolences in different ways. It is right for our country to express condolences on a national level as well."
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