While Abe's death sent shockwaves throughout the world, this also revealed a dark side of Japanese politics as many lawmakers of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party are not only members but also patrons of the UC. This malaise has spread so deep that it has affected the lives of many common men as politicians patronise the UC and use the donation money on projects that go against the interests of the citizens and the nation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday attended the state funeral of assassinated former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo.
Some 20,000 police officers have been reportedly being deployed for the security at the event being held at the Nippon Budokan arena in central Tokyo which is estimated to cost taxpayers $1.65 billion yen ($11 million).
Japan has imposed tight security measures in the capital city Tokyo as it prepares to host foreign dignitaries for the state funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which will be attended by several foreign dignitaries.
The ceremony will take place at the Nippon Budokan arena in the Kitanomaru National Garden in Tokyo.
The coronavirus has infected more than 700 people across Japan and been linked to 21 deaths. Separately, 700 people on board a cruise ship that docked near Tokyo last month were also infected.
For Japan’s longest-serving Prime Minister, this is the biggest test since returning to office in 2012. Shinzo Abe has been criticised for an initial lack of leadership and he abruptly took steps to close schools leaving parents and employers scrambling. It is rather unfortunate that instead of cooperating to tackle the new global menace, both the Asian nations, Japan and South Korea, continue to suffer from the shadow of history. Both nations have close economic ties and are also major US allies, with democracies and market economies faced with a rising China and nuclear-armed North Korea. It is clearly the wrong time to invoke the past to address the present.
The talk took place hours after Donald Trump suggested postponing the Olympic Games, scheduled to begin on July 24, to avoid "empty stadiums".
Since 2014, Ahmedabad has hosted many world leaders such as Chinese President Xi Jinping, Prime Ministers of Japan and Israel, Shinzo Abe and Benjamin Netanyahu respectively, on their visits to the country.
When asked about this issue at a media briefing, Japanese Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga neither confirmed or denied the information on the postponement of Abe's trip to the Middle East.
