Japanese Government Holds Belated Funeral for Former Prime Minister Nakasone, Known for 'Right-Wing Support'...Fostering a Memorial Atmosphere

Funeral Delayed by COVID-19 for Death in November Last Year
2.1 Billion Won Spent on Funeral, Early Flag Lowering and Moment of Silence Requested at National Universities

On November 29 last year, a TV screen in Yurakucho, Tokyo, displayed the news of former Prime Minister Nakasone's passing. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The Japanese government announced that it will hold the funeral of former Prime Minister Nakasone Yasuhiro, regarded as the progenitor of Japanese right-wing politicians, who passed away last November, on the 17th. As it promotes a mourning atmosphere by demanding a large funeral budget and requesting early flag lowering and moments of silence at national universities, criticism from various sectors is pouring in. There is backlash that these measures are anachronistic and unnecessary.

According to local Japanese media such as NHK on the 16th, regarding the joint funeral of former Prime Minister Nakasone by the Japanese government and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to be held on the 17th, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) has issued a notice requesting all national universities to lower flags early and observe moments of silence, causing a stir. MEXT attached a document signed by Minister Kato to national universities and related independent administrative institutions, asking them to "respond appropriately in line with this intent." Additionally, MEXT sent a document signed by Minister Kato to regional prefectural education boards with a note saying "for your reference," requesting that this be communicated to municipal education boards as well. The Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications also sent a document on the 7th to heads of prefectural and municipal governments asking for cooperation to express condolences in the same manner as the government’s measures.

Previously, the joint funeral of former Prime Minister Nakasone, who died last November, by the Japanese government and the ruling LDP was originally scheduled for March this year but was postponed due to the spread of COVID-19. The funeral, which will be held almost a year after his death, is planned to take place at the Grand Prince Shin Takanawa, a luxury hotel in Minato Ward, Tokyo, with an estimated cost of 190 million yen (approximately 2.1 billion KRW). Half of the funeral expenses will be covered by the Japanese government from the general contingency fund, and the rest by the LDP. With the government also demanding expressions of condolence such as early flag lowering and moments of silence at national universities, criticism from various sectors in Japan has begun to flood in.

Opposition parties in Japan, including the Constitutional Democratic Party, pointed out that the request for expressions of condolence at national universities could infringe on the neutrality of education. At a regular press conference held the previous day, criticism was raised that the request for condolence expression for former Prime Minister Nakasone might violate the Basic Act on Education. Japan’s Basic Act on Education prohibits education that supports or opposes specific political parties in schools.

Minister Kato responded by saying, "Whether to express condolences will be autonomously decided by the relevant institutions," and clarified, "There is no compulsion involved." He further explained regarding the expression of condolence for former Prime Minister Nakasone, "It does not correspond to political activities supporting a specific party," and "I understand that MEXT also does not consider it a violation of educational neutrality."

It is known that MEXT has directly notified national universities and others to express condolences at three previous occasions for funerals of Japanese prime ministers. However, at the most recent joint funeral, that of former Prime Minister Miyazawa Kiichi in 2007, there was no such request for expressions of condolence. Due to this, the Suga Cabinet’s attempt to promote a mourning atmosphere for former Prime Minister Nakasone is being criticized as biased and anachronistic. According to Kyodo News, Teruyuki Hirota, a professor of education at Japan University, pointed out, "It is not appropriate for the current era," and "There needs to be broad discussion on whether the government needs to go this far for a politician’s funeral."

Despite these criticisms from various sectors, the forced creation of a mourning atmosphere is interpreted as being because former Prime Minister Nakasone is a symbolic figure of Japanese right-wing politics. Nakasone took office as prime minister in 1982 and served for 4 years and 11 months. On August 15, 1985, he became the first Japanese prime minister to officially visit Yasukuni Shrine, where Class A war criminals from the Pacific War are enshrined.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.