No special treatment given to successful bidder of Abe funeral: gov't

Preferential treatment was not given to the Japanese company that won the bid to put on former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's state funeral later this month, the chief Cabinet secretary said Monday.Tokyo-based event organizer Murayama Inc., which has been involved in some controversial government-sponsored events, was the only firm to participate in the tender for the Sept. 27 state funeral, Hirokazu Matsuno added at a regular press conference.A lone gunman fatally shot Abe during an election campaign speech in early July.The opposition bloc has criticized Murayama after it was revealed that t…READ FULL ARTICLE