Man Sets Himself On Fire Near Japan PM's Office: Report

A man was taken to hospital unconscious after apparently setting himself on fire near the office of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo on Wednesday, local media said.

A man set himself on fire near the office of the Japanese prime minister, Wednesday, after expressing his opposition to a state funeral for assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, local media reported.

The police, the Prime Minister's Office and the Cabinet Office declined to comment on the reports.

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Asahi TV said the man set himself on fire after telling police that he was opposing Abe's party scheduled for next week.

The television station said that a police officer who tried to put out the fire was injured during the operation.

Kyodo News and other media said police were called to the scene at around 7:00 am (2200 GMT) after a man was reported to have "on fire".

The agency said a paper was found near the man, expressing his opposition to the funeral.

Several hours later, an AFP reporter at the scene saw a burnt patch of grass and bush.

With the police and the media nearby.

Abe, Japan's longest-serving prime minister, was shot dead on July 8 while campaigning, and a publicly funded state funeral will be held in his honor on September 27.

But state funerals are rare in Japan, and the decision is controversial. Recent polls show that more than half of the public is against the idea

.

Abe was Japan's most famous politician, and remained a prominent public figure after resigning for health reasons in 2020.

He was campaigning for ruling party candidates in the Senate elections in Nara district, when he was shot by a man who believed the former leader had links to the Unification Church.

Expect world leaders

The assassination sparked international shock and condemnation, but Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's decision to allow a state funeral was controversial.

Abe was far from international fame, and many opposed his hard-line nationalist views or were angered by persistent allegations that he engaged in nepotism.

Abe's concert is expected to cost at least 1.7 billion yen ($12 million).

Kishida, who is currently in New York to address the United Nations General Assembly, has defended the plan, insisting that Abe's record duration and international standing mean he's worth the ceremony.

But the prime minister has testified that his approval ratings act on the decision, as well as a controversy over relations between politicians and the Unification Church.

Tetsuya Yamagami, the man accused of shooting Abe, is said to have resented the church over his mother's membership and massive donations that left his family penniless.

the church,

Its members are sometimes called "monies" after Korean founder Son Myung Moon, accused of pressuring believers to make sometimes destructive donations — accusations the foundation denies.

While Abe was not a member of the Church, he addressed affiliated groups,

His death caused renewed scrutiny of the cult and its ties to politicians in Japan.

An investigation by Kishida's ruling Liberal Democratic Party found that about half of the party's lawmakers have sect links.

He vowed that the party would sever all ties with the church, which has denied any wrongdoing.

BY
ProBuzzFeed