The government said Tuesday it will spend public funds to pay for the funeral of the Empress Dowager and build a mausoleum for her, officials said.
The Imperial Household Agency has called for a new appropriation to cover the costs, saying the burial ceremony for the Empress Dowager will be of a public nature because she was respected and will be mourned by the entire populace.
The agency said it expects the ceremony and mausoleum will cost less than the 3.6 billion yen used for the funeral and mausoleum of Emperor Showa, who died in 1989.
The Empress Dowager, widow of the late Emperor, died Friday. She was 97.
The government also said Tuesday it will cancel an official visit to Mongolia by Prince Akishino and his wife, Princess Kiko, because of the Empress Dowager's death.