A man set himself on fire in front of Japan PM Fumio Kishida's office to protest against the state funeral to be held next week for slain PM Shinzo Abe. The Japanese media reported that he had set fire to himself early morning on Wednesday and was taken to the hospital with burn injuries to his entire body.
The man, who has not been named, was initially unconscious when he was being taken to the hospital. A police officer who tried to extinguish the flames was injured. Opposition to the state funeral of Abe, who was shot dead in July has been growing after revelations emerged of links between the Liberal Democratic party and the Unification Church, whose members are called Moonies.
The man, who is in his 70s, later regained consciousness said that he had doused himself in oil before setting it alight. A note which read that the man 'strongly opposed' to Abe's funeral was found at the scene.
The person suspected to have shot Abe, Tetsuya Yamagami, told investigators that he targeted the politician due to his connections to the Unification church. The church was founded in South Korea in 1954. Of the 379 lawmakers of the ruling party surveyed, it was found that about half of them had some connection with the Unification church.
Current PM Fumio Kishida's ratings have also come down due to these revelations.
