Photo/Illutration Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno speaks at a news conference at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo on Oct. 14. (Koichi Ueda)

A top government spokesman said the cost of the state funeral for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe came in at “around the level of 1.25 billion yen ($8.4 million),” 400 million yen less than expected.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno announced the preliminary figure at a news conference held after a Cabinet meeting on Oct. 14.

The administration originally said it expected the funeral, which generated a large amount of opposition from the public, to rack up costs to the tune of 1.66 billion yen.

But Matsuno said they did not spend as much as projected on security and receiving overseas dignitaries, as the guests did not stay in Japan for as long as the planners had estimated.

According to Matsuno, the costs break down to 240 million yen for the funeral ceremony, 480 million yen for security, 510 million yen for accepting overseas dignitaries and 10 million yen for renting vehicles for the Self-Defense Forces’ honor guards.

The total comes to 1.24 billion yen, although Matsuno said the figures are subject to change, as officials have yet to calculate them using official accounting procedures.

He said that because overseas guests left Japan earlier than expected, the cost for security was about 320 million yen less than estimated. That also lowered the cost for accepting overseas invitees by around 90 million yen.

Organizers sent invitations for the state funeral to 6,175 people in Japan, and 4,170 people ultimately attended, including 734 from overseas.

The government had announced its initial cost estimate of 1.66 billion yen on Sept. 6.

It had calculated the price tag would consist of 249.4 million yen for preparing the venue for the funeral, 800 million yen for security, 600 million yen for accepting overseas guests and 10 million yen for renting vehicles for honor guards.

Matsuno also said the government will publish the results of its own analysis of its handling of the state funeral as soon as possible.

He said the government will conduct interviews with 20 to 30 experts about what made the funeral so contentious among the public. 

The government will then draft an official record of the funeral, which will include information about the legal basis for holding it and arguments made in the public debate over holding it.

The government aims to create new rules for holding state funerals to prepare for the next time, Matsuno said.

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