Shinzo Abe’s State funeral as controversial as Japan’s late leader

Japan will honour its assassinated former prime minister Shinzo Abe, a polarising figure who dominated modern-day politics as its longest-serving leader, with a rare state funeral that has become nearly as divisive as he was.

Abe’s killing at a July 8 campaign rally set off a flood of revelations about ties between lawmakers in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) he once ran and the Unification Church, which critics call a cult, sparking a backlash against current premier Fumio Kishida.

With his support ratings dragged to their lowest ever by the controversy, Kishida has apologised and vowed to cut party ties to the church.

But opposition to honouring Abe with a state funeral, the first such event since 1967, has persisted, fed by an $US11.5-million ($A17.8 million) price tag to be borne by the state at a time of economic pain for ordinary citizens.

About 4300 are expected to attend Tuesday’s ceremony at the Nippon Budokan Hall, including at least 48 current or former government figures such as United States Vice President Kamala Harris, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The sole Group of Seven leader set to join, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, cancelled to tackle a natural disaster at home.

Abe’s ashes will be carried into the venue and an honour guard will fire 19 rounds from a cannon.

Tens of thousands of police will be deployed, nearby roads will be closed and some schools shut as Japan seeks to avoid the security blunders that led to Abe’s shooting with a homemade gun by a suspect who, police say, accused the Unification Church of impoverishing his family.

The state funeral for Abe, who received a private funeral days after his assassination, is the first since one in 1967 for former Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida.

Kishida has explained the decision as a way of honouring Abe’s achievements, as well as standing up for democracy, but ordinary Japanese remain divided, with opinion polls consistently showing more than half opposed.