A person protesting the state funeral of Abe Shinzo, who was assassinated in Japan, set himself on fire near the Prime Minister’s Residence in Tokyo.
A man in his 70s attempted suicide by setting himself on fire at 6:50 am on a street near the Prime Minister’s Residence in Tokyo’s Kasumigaseki district.
Police forces sent to the scene took security measures in Kasumigaseki, where many government organizations and the Japanese Parliament are located.
The unconscious person was taken to the hospital. According to the Capital Police, it was reported that the person used statements that he “did himself in gasoline and set himself on fire”.
Police obtained a note “personally strongly opposed” to holding a state funeral for Abe at the scene.
After the funeral of Yoshida Shigeru, Abe’s ceremony will be the second official state funeral for a former Prime Minister after WWII.
A nationwide poll by the Kyodo agency revealed that 56 percent of respondents were “not convinced” that a state funeral was held for Abe on September 27.
On the eve of the Upper House elections, Abe was assassinated by gunfire from behind him during his party’s speech at an outdoor event in the western city of Nara on 8 July.