Man charged with murder in assassination of former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe

Japanese prosecutors have formally charged a suspect in the assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe with murder, ordering him to stand trial, a court said on Friday.

Tetsuya Yamagami was arrested immediately after allegedly shooting Abe with a homemade gun as the former leader made a campaign speech in July outside a train station in Nara in western Japan. He then underwent a nearly six-month mental evaluation, during which prosecutors indicated he was fit to stand trial.

Yamagami was also charged with violating gun control laws, according to the Nara District Court.

Police said Yamagami told him he killed Abe, one of Japan’s most influential and divisive politicians, because of Abe’s ties to a religious group he hated. In a statement and in a social media post linked to him, Yamagami said he held a grudge because his mother had made huge donations to the Unification Church that bankrupted his family and ruined his life.

One of his lawyers, Masaaki Furukawa, told The Associated Press on Thursday that Yamagami must take responsibility for the serious consequences of his alleged actions and that defense lawyers will do their best to reduce his sentence.

Japanese law allows the death penalty for murder, but experts say the death penalty is usually handed down for multiple murders and Yamagami could face life in prison if convicted.

No date has been set for the trial, which is expected to have a civilian jury panel in addition to regular bench judges, as is typical in homicide cases and other serious criminal trials in Japan. There are no trials before a court in Japan and defendants generally undergo trials.

Because of the complexity of the case, it will take several months before the trial begins, Furukawa said.

church controversy

Police are also reportedly considering adding a number of other charges, including producing weapons, violating explosives control laws and causing damage to buildings.

Some Japanese have expressed sympathy for Yamagami, especially those who also suffered as the children of followers of the South Korea-based Unification Church, which is known for forcing adherents to make large donations and is considered a cult in Japan.

Thousands of people have signed petitions calling for Yamagami’s help, and others have sent care packages to relatives or detention centers.

The investigation into the case has led to the revelation of a chilling relationship between Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party and the church since Abe’s grandfather, former prime minister Nobusuke Kishi, helped the church take root in Japan in the 1960s on the same conservative and anti-Semitism agenda. – the communist cause.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s popularity has plummeted over his handling of the church controversy and his push for a controversial state funeral for Abe.

Kishida shuffled the cabinet in August to remove ministers with church ties, but the subsequent release of an investigation by the governing party in September showed almost half of its 400 members of the national parliament had church connections.

Kishida, who says he has no ties to the church, has vowed that his party’s lawmakers will cut ties with the group, and his government has launched an investigation that could lead to the church’s religious status being revoked.

Kazuo Kobayashi, 64, a resident of Chiba near Tokyo, said Yamagami should face justice regardless of his difficult background.

“I think it’s good to bring them to court and explain what’s right and what’s wrong,” he said. “I want the case to be fully investigated to find the truth so that it can be a lesson for the future of Japan.”