Tetsuya Yamagami confessed to police that he shot the former Japanese prime minister because of his alleged links to a religious organization that caused him family problems.
Shinzo Abe’s suspected killer began planning the attack on the former Japanese prime minister last fall, according to information gathered by Japanese police, which also suggests the suspect meticulously prepared the operation.
Authorities believe the suspect decided to try to kill Abe after seeing a video message in September last year recorded by the former president for an organization affiliated with the Unification Church, which the alleged killer “hated”, according to details revealed by the authorities. Japanese media.
The detainee, Tetsuya Yamagami, confessed to police that he attacked Abe because of his alleged links to a religious organization that caused him family problems.
The Japanese branch of the Unification Church had already confirmed that Yamagami’s mother was a member of that group and declined to comment on the alleged donations that the woman had made to the organization and that would have led her to bankruptcy, according to the story told by the detainee.
Yamagami also told police that he initially intended to attack some leader of the religious organization, before branding Abe.
The suspect chose the rally that Shinzo Abe held last Friday, in the city of Nara (west) after thinking about testing the attack in another speech by the politician the day before, in an auditorium in another city and with restricted access.
Last Friday’s rally took place on the street, in front of a train station and with a security device made up of several agents, but without any physical separation between the politician and the citizens who wanted to hear him, something that is common in events of this type in Japan.
Yamagami arrived at the scene an hour and a half before the attack, according to footage captured by security cameras, apparently in search of an ideal position to carry out his plan.
With a weapon similar to a homemade shotgun, the attacker approached Abe from behind and fired a first shot at a distance of seven meters and a second time at five meters.
The murder weapon consisted of two metal tubes taped together and mounted on a wooden panel. It was capable of launching up to six projectiles with each shot, which gave it greater accuracy and lethality, according to the attacker himself.
Yamagami received training in firearms assembly and use when he worked for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Forces (Army) between 2002 and 2005, and started making his own weapons about a year ago, inspired by videos he found online. .
According to him, he told the authorities, he bought the gunpowder used in the attack online.
The Government of Japan announced on Monday that it will posthumously award former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe the Order of the Chrysanthemum Necklace, the country’s highest award, thus recognizing the contribution of Abe, who was the first The longest-serving Japanese minister, with one term in 2006 and another between 2012 and 2020.
