Tokyo, 14 October, /AJMEDIA/
The controversial state funeral for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe cost around 1.2 billion yen ($8.1 million), less than the initially estimated 1.66 billion yen, the Japanese government said Friday.
The taxpayer-funded ceremony was held Sept. 27 in Tokyo for Abe, the country’s longest-serving prime minister, who was fatally shot while giving an election campaign speech in early July.
After it decided to hold the state funeral, the government of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in August it would spend 249 million yen to cover the cost of the venue. The government in early September said it would allocate an additional 1.4 billion yen to cover security costs and welcome foreign dignitaries, bringing the total price tag to over 1.6 billion yen.
Japan’s first state funeral for a former prime minister in 55 years was attended by more than 4,000 people from home and abroad, including U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
