AGONY

Japanese Man Sets Himself on Fire to Protest Shinzo Abe’s State Funeral

The protester was unhappy with the arrangements to commemorate the country’s assassinated former prime minister.

A man set himself on fire near the Japanese prime minister’s office in Tokyo on Wednesday to protest the planned state funeral for the country’s former leader Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated in July. The demonstrator was rushed to a hospital after suffering burns all over his body, while a police officer who tried to extinguish the flames was also injured in the incident. The man, in his 70s, was reportedly unconscious when he was first found, but later told authorities he deliberately doused himself in oil and set it alight. A letter concerning Abe’s state funeral with the words “I strongly oppose it,” was found nearby. Police would not confirm the incident, which took place on what would have been Abe’s 68th birthday. Abe was shot dead during a public appearance on July 8 by an attacker using a homemade gun.