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A Japanese man set himself on fire Wednesday in protest of the state funeral for the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The man, who reportedly doused himself in oil before igniting in protest, carried a note stating his total opposition to honoring the deceased prime minister.
Abe was shot and killed while giving a July speech on a street in Nara in western Japan.
The demonstrator — who officials believe to be in his seventies — survived the self-immolation but suffered extensive burns.
Police and firefighters inspect the scene where a man is reported to set himself on fire, near the Prime Minister’s Office in Tokyo, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022.
(Kyodo News via AP)
The demonstrator was taken to the hospital where his current status is unknown.
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The state funeral planned for Abe will take place next week with an elaborate ceremony celebrating the late national leader.
Police and firefighters inspect the scene where a man is reported to set himself on fire, near the Prime Minister’s Office in Tokyo, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022.
(Kyodo News via AP)
Abe was a powerful ally of the Japanese Imperial Family, firmly supporting their role in Japanese culture and refusing to budge on a variety of proposed reforms on the institution.
The government of Japan announced July 11 that Abe would be receiving the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum, the highest award in the entire nation.
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Abe was also awarded the Junior First Rank of Court, a posthumous honor that dates back to ancient Japanese nobility.
