Shinzo Abe’s contentious public funeral will be held in Japan as it bids farewell to the former prime minister.

Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be laid to rest in Japan with a formal funeral that has sparked intense debate across the nation.

The killing of Abe during a campaign rally on July 8 has exposed a close relationship between the Unification Church and Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has sparked widespread demonstrations across the country.

The current prime minister, Fumio Kishida, has also been affected by the recent scandals since his popularity has suffered and because his choice to attend a state funeral for Abe has not been well received.

With Japan going through an economic crisis at the moment, a number of people have strongly opposed the plan to hold the state funeral at an expense of around $11.5 million.

This will be the first state funeral held in Japan since 1967 and it has led a number of protests in the past few days.

However, according to Reuters, 4300 people are anticipated to attend the state funeral, along with foreign leaders travelling to Japan. The biggest personalities expected to attend are American Vice President Kamala Harris and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cancelled at the last moment due to Hurricane Fiona.