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Kyodo

Prosecutors have decided to indict the man accused of fatally shooting former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in July following a psychiatric evaluation, sources close to the matter said on Saturday.
The Nara District Prosecutors Office earlier extended the detention of Tetsuya Yamagami, 42, to carefully examine whether he was mentally fit to withstand trial.
His statements during the examination, including those on how he made a firearm himself to shoot Abe, led the prosecutors to believe he was competent enough to be tried, the sources said.


The period of his detention for mental examination will expire on January 10. Yamagami was arrested for murder after shooting Abe on July 8 during a campaign speech in the western city of Nara.
Yamagami told investigators that he held a grudge against the Unification Church, a religious group known for its mass weddings and aggressive donation solicitations, after his mother’s large financial donations caused his family to fall apart. He targeted Abe in the belief the former prime minister had links to the group, investigative sources have said.
According to Yamagami’s uncle and the church’s senior official, his mother made donations totalling about 100 million yen (US$753,000) to the group – formally known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification. Yamagami told investigators her repeated donations left his family in financial ruin.
Church or cult? Abe murder spotlights South Korea’s ‘pseudo-religious’ groups
His citing of the church’s ties with politics as a motive exposed links between some Japanese lawmakers and the church, prompting political parties, including the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, to probe their connections with the religious group, founded in South Korea in the 1950s.
The government is also inquiring into the church’s activities to assess whether it has been systematically involved in soliciting massive, financially ruinous donations from its members and their families.


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Tetsuya Yamagami is escorted by police in Nara, western Japan. Photo: Kyodo/File

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Couples from around the world attend a mass wedding ceremony in South Korea organised by the Unification Church. Photo: AP

The Tokyo headquarters of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, known as the Unification Church. Photo: AFP/File

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Akie Abe, wife of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe carries a cinerary urn as she arrives at the state of funeral of her husband on September 27, 2022. Photo: Pool via Reuters

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Economic security minister Sanae Takaichi. Photo: AFP

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Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida ordered an investigation on Monday into the Unification Church, after the assassination of former premier Shinzo Abe in July revealed close ties between it and the ruling party. Photo: Reuters/File

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida instructed Japanese Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Minister Keiko Nagaoka to launch an investigation into the Unification Church. Photo: Kyodo

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Tokyo headquarters of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, more commonly known as the Unification Church. Photo: Reuters

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Asia

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The Nara District Prosecutors Office earlier extended the detention of Tetsuya Yamagami to carefully examine if he was mentally fit to withstand trial
His statements during the examination led the prosecutors to believe he was competent enough to be tried, sources said



The Nara District Prosecutors Office earlier extended the detention of Tetsuya Yamagami, 42, to carefully examine whether he was mentally fit to withstand trial.


Shinzo Abe

Crime

Shinzo Abe assassination

Japan prosecutors to indict Abe shooter after psychiatric evaluation

The Nara District Prosecutors Office earlier extended the detention of Tetsuya Yamagami to carefully examine if he was mentally fit to withstand trial His statements during the examination led the prosecutors to believe he was competent enough to be tried, sources said

The Nara District Prosecutors Office earlier extended the detention of Tetsuya Yamagami to carefully examine if he was mentally fit to withstand trial

His statements during the examination led the prosecutors to believe he was competent enough to be tried, sources said