Police told prosecutors Wednesday they should indict a 48-year-old resident of Narashino, Chiba Prefecture, for Twitter posts suggesting Prime Minister Fumio Kishida should be assassinated.
"If a state funeral is implemented, Kishida will be next," one tweet read, while another said, "It's time to start making handmade guns," referencing the murder of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in July by a man using a homemade gun.
The Metropolitan Police Department, which was alerted by a person who saw the man's tweets posted on July 14, referred his case to the prosecutors, saying police resources were unnecessarily spent responding to what were effectively baseless threats.
The police attached an opinion that the man should be indicted.
The man has admitted to the allegations and told investigators he thought "if the government can afford to use taxpayer money to hold a state funeral (for Abe), they should spend it on anti-coronavirus measures and for helping the poor," the police said.
Public opinion has been divided on holding a state funeral for the slain former prime minister, planned by the government at a Tokyo arena on Sept. 27.
An Aug. 10-11 nationwide telephone poll conducted by Kyodo News showed 56% were unconvinced by Kishida's explanation for why it is appropriate to hold a state funeral for Abe, while 42.5% said they accepted it.
Kishida expressed in July his intention to hold a state funeral for the former leader, citing his record eight years and eight months as prime minister as well as the significant recognition he garnered in the international community.