State Cemetery Protests For The Late Former PM Shinzo Abe, Japanese Pria Bakar Diri

Shinzo Abe. (Wikimedia Commons/)

JAKARTA - A man desperate to burn himself near Japan's Prime Minister's office on Wednesday, in protest over the government's decision to hold a state funeral for former former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, media reported.

The man was taken to a hospital that suffered burns all over his body. Meanwhile, a policeman who tried to extinguish the fire was also injured.

The man, in his 70s, was unconscious when he was first discovered, but later told police he deliberately doused himself with oil, the media said.

A letter about the state funeral to the late Abe and the words "I love you very much," was found nearby.

Police declined to confirm the incident, which happened exactly on Abe's 68th birthday.

"I've heard that police found a man suffering from burns near the government office, and I am aware that police are investigating," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a news conference.

Abe, Japan's longest-serving prime minister to resign in 2020 due to poor health, was shot dead during a speech in a campaign in Nara City on July 8.

State funerals for him will be held for September 27, with about 6,000 people from Japan and abroad will take part.

Public sentiment supported state funerals at the time of announcement, shortly after Abe's death. However, the opinion has shifted sharply.

A number of polls show most Japanese people are now against the ceremony.

PM Fumio Kishida has defended his decision time and time again, but most voters remain unsure, as well as questioning the need to hold an expensive ceremony at a time of increasing economic pressure for ordinary citizens.

The government's latest estimate is that the activity will require 1.65 billion yen (12 million US dollars), which includes security and receptions.