According to the Yomiuri newspaper, Japanese authorities on Friday indicted the man they believe killed former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Tetsuya Yamagami, 42, was charged with murder and breaking firearms regulations by the Nara District Public Prosecutors Office after an approximately six-month psychiatric evaluation, according to the newspaper.
Yamagami was apprehended right away on July 8 after reportedly shooting Abe with a homemade gun during the former prime Minister’s speech at an election campaign in the western city of Nara, committing a crime that shook the entire world.
According to reports, he had a grievance towards the Unification Church for making his family poor by convincing his mother to give roughly 100 million yen ($774,700), and he considered Abe responsible for supporting the sect.
The Unification Church was established in South Korea in 1954; it is well-known for holding large-scale marriages and counts on its adherents in Japan as a significant source of funding.
The murder made clear proof that the church and Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) politicians had strong, long-standing ties.
Although the LDP has denied having organizational links to the religion, it has conceded that several MPs do.
Because of the disclosures on the relationships between numerous LDP politicians and the church, the approval rating for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s administration has dropped to record lows.
Because of the disclosures on the relationships between numerous LDP politicians and the church, the approval rating for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s administration has dropped to record lows.
The premier removed church-affiliated ministers from his cabinet in August, and the ongoing controversy over these connections led to the economic revival minister’s resignation in October.
Following Abe’s murder in November, Japan opened an investigation into the church that would jeopardize its legal standing.
