Crime & Courts

8 cities in Gunma receive threats calling for cancellation of Abe’s state funeral

REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo
A picture of late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is seen at Headquarters of the Liberal Democratic Party in Tokyo on July 12.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:31 JST, July 27, 2022

Eight cities in Gunma Prefecture including Maebashi, Ota and Isesaki have received emails from an individual threatening to kidnap children if the state funeral for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is not cancelled, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned. The Gunma prefectural police are investigating the incident as an alleged case of forcible obstruction of business.

According to the cities, the emails were sent to their official email addresses on Monday with threats such as “If it is not cancelled, children will be kidnapped after being stunned with a teaser” and “[I] will steal concentrated sulfuric acid and other chemicals from elementary and junior high schools and dump them at the state funeral site.”

Abe’s state funeral is scheduled to be held on September 27 at the Nippon Budokan hall in Tokyo.