Abe funeral: Japan asks why state event is costing more than the Queen’s

“How could Abe’s funeral cost more than the Queen’s?” read one headline.

Even though the actual amount of money spent on the Queen’s state funeral has not been disclosed, the Flash article cited the Daily Mirror’s reported figure of £8m or 1.3 billion yen to compare it to the estimated cost of former prime minister Shinzo Abe’s funeral of 1.66 billion yen.

Many are already predicting the actual price tag to be much higher, citing examples such as the Tokyo Olympics which ended up costing $13 billion - about double the original estimate, reports BBC.

Others ask if the difference in the costs between the two state funerals is down to companies that act as a middleman when Japan hosts large events.

When Tokyo-based event organiser Murayama was revealed as the only bidder - and therefore the winner of the 176 million yen contract - for the state funeral, eyebrows were raised as it was the company Abe used to host an annual cherry blossom party where he faced allegations of cronyism.

More than 70 per cent of people surveyed by a recent Kyodo news agency poll said the government was spending too much on the funeral.

About half of the money is expected to go on tight security while another third will be used to host foreign visitors.

Ahead of Tuesday’s state funeral, overseas guests are arriving in Japan to meet the current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. The three-day event has been dubbed “funeral diplomacy”.

There are 700 guests from 217 countries, including US Vice-President Kamala Harris and Indian and Australian prime ministers Narendra Modi and Anthony Albanese.

But many in Japan have highlighted how the Queen’s state funeral in London attracted most of the current global leaders while those attending Abe’s are mostly former leaders.