The month of September of the year 2022 is going to be remembered for a long time; as in that month, the world witnessed the two most expensive funerals of modern history. One of them was of queen Elizbeth II, the longest-serving monarch of the United Kingdom, whereas the other one was of Mr. Shinzo Abe, the longest-serving Prime Minister of Japan, who was assassinated during an election campaign on July 8th, 2022, while addressing a rally outside Yamato-Saidaiji Station in the city of Nara.
It is quite surprising that the amount spent on the funeral of Mr. Shinzo Abe is considerably higher than the one spent on the funeral of the queen. Although, the actual amount spent on the queen’s funeral has not been disclosed officially by the British Government, yet according to a report published in The Daily Mirror, it was around $7.5m. While, the amount spent on the funeral of Mr. Shinzo Abe, was estimated at around $11.4m.
Queen Elizabeth II was a world-known leader. She is regarded as a person who influenced the entire world to a great extent. She passionately served her country and numerous other territories underneath the fluttering banner of the British Empire for a long time and led such a long majestic life that nobody can possibly emulate, especially in the near future. For many, she was beloved and still is; nobody put a question mark beside her stately funeral.
Yet, the grand funeral of the deceased Japanese premier Mr. Shinzo Abe is not being regarded as a fair deal in Japan; it seems to have stirred a huge controversy. The assassination of the former premier brought a tremendous wave of shock and grief in Japan which died down soon when the current premier, Fumio Kishida, announced the state funeral for him. The funeral of Mr. Abe was held on Tuesday, September 27th, 2022; and it is reported that more than fifty percent population of the country was against holding it. A 70-year-old man allegedly set himself alight while protesting against the huge waste of money. It was so because, despite being considerably influential and respected, Mr. Abe had never been regarded with huge love in his country.
No doubt, the deceased premier had a very strong family background and enjoyed a rich political career that started in 1993 when he stepped into The National Diet (bicameral parliament of Japan), having been elected to the House of Representatives (House of Representatives is the lower house of The National Diet, while the upper house is called The House of Counselors). In 1999, he assumed the position of the Director of the Social Affairs Division and then became the Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary during the premierships of Yoshirō Mori and Junichiro Koizumi from 2000 to 2003. Later on, he served in various other positions from time to time; however, he is known for being the longest-serving Prime Minister of Japan and the president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
Mr. Abe was less popular because he had conservative views about different issues. In the era of globalization, he was a fervent supporter of nationalism, and to promote nationalism, there were made many changes in the national curriculum of Japan as per his instructions. He never took women’s rights seriously and despite promising the policies to help women shine, the share of women in management roles had not increased during his eight-year tenure; people spotted the discrepancies between what he said and what he did.
To improve the country’s economy and to counter economic stagnation, he did nothing special to speak of. The economic plan he introduced underneath the term ‘Abenomics’ had nothing new in it; it was almost similar to what Japan had been trying since 1990, following the collapse of its stock market. Moreover, during his tenure, outdated labor laws backing the brutal work culture had not been reviewed despite his consecutive promises.
Most of the Japanese are fully convinced that instead of economic ones, military policies got much attention from Mr. Abe. Being a staunch proponent of nationalism, he opposed article 9 of the Japanese constitution outlawing war as a tool to settle international disputes. This article became a part of the Japanese constitution on May 3rd, 1947 following World War II. To many, his moves in opposition to article 9 were unnecessary as, despite its presence in the constitution, Japan had self-defense forces capable enough to counter any belligerency against her.
In 2014, under the influence of Mr. Abe, article 9 of the constitution was reinterpreted and this reinterpretation changed the country’s general impression as a ‘Pacifist Country’ by giving the self-defense forces of Japan more power to defend its allies in case of any belligerency imposed upon them. To most people, it was rather embarrassing that the United States did not oppose the new interpretation of Article 9; it is quite clear that the superpower is now looking at Japan as one of its allies to counter the emerging power, China. However, to some, this reinterpretation was inevitable and necessary to treat North Korea, which is one of the oldest adversaries of Japan, in a befitting manner.
