A man set himself on fire in Tokyo to protest the controversial state funeral ceremony for the murdered Japanese ex-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The Japanese television station TV Asahi reports that the man suffered burn injuries and lost consciousness. A police officer who tried to extinguish the flames was also injured. Shortly before the crime, the man told the official that he was against the act of state for the former prime minister, the television reported. The incident happened near the residence of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is attending the UN General Assembly in New York.

The rare funeral ceremony to honor Abe next Tuesday, attended by state guests from all over the world, has sparked heated controversy in Japan. Although Abe is regarded worldwide as a deserving statesman, the right-wing conservative was heavily criticized in his own country for his nationalist agenda, involvement in scandals and proximity to the controversial Mun sect.

The former prime minister was shot dead at point-blank range from behind with a homemade gun while delivering a campaign speech in the city of Nara on July 8. The assassin claimed to have murdered Abe out of hatred for the Mun sect. Horrendous donations from his mother to the sect would have ruined and destroyed the family financially.

TV Asahi mit Video