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Accepted Paper:
The state funeral for Abe Shinzō
Helen Hardacre
(Harvard University)
This paper examines the phenomenon of modern Japanese state funerals.The paper will argue that the lack of a clear rationale for state funerals since 1945 allowed the Abe funeral to become a stage for expressions of deep-seated opposition to Abe’s policies and dislike of Abe himself.
Paper long abstract:
After Abe Shinzō’s assassination, Prime Minister Kishida determined to hold a state funeral, the first since Yoshida Shigeru’s in 1967. Kishida and the LDP reached this decision by Cabinet resolution, without consulting the Diet. When opposition MPs questioned the legal basis for a state funeral and criticized the way the decision had been reached, it emerged that the postwar legal grounding of state funerals is weak. Sustained civic activism opposing Abe’s state funeral arguably influenced numerous foreign dignitaries to decline the invitation to attend.
This paper examines the phenomenon of modern Japanese state funerals. In imperial Japan, state funerals were initiated by imperial decree as a gesture of magnanimity. The rites themselves derived from Shinto and were performed in a Shinto style, and the accompanying processions included essential roles for the military. The visual spectacles created by state funerals constituted displays of imperial majesty, benevolence, and power. The paper will argue that the lack of a comparable rationale for state funerals since 1945 allowed the Abe funeral to become a stage for expressions of deep-seated opposition to Abe’s policies and dislike of Abe himself.