2 years after Abe’s shooting in Japan, ‘second-generation’ Unification Church members struggling

Second-generation Unification Church members, born into a family of avid followers, are being denied access to higher education or employment

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Photo of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is seen placed on a podium on the second anniversary of his assassination in the western Japan city of Nara. Photo: Kyodo

Published: 5:19pm, 8 Jul 2024

Monday marks two years since former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was fatally shot, while issues related to the Unification Church and the plight of “second-generation” members of religious groups that drew attention afterward remain unsolved.

Many mourners visited a flower-laying table set at the site where Japan’s longest-serving prime minister was shot in Nara, western Japan, on July 8, 2022, at the age of 67, by a man allegedly using a home-made gun during an election campaign speech.

The 43-year-old assailant, Tetsuya Yamagami, has been indicted for murder. He has told investigators that he held a grudge against the controversial religious group because of massive donations made by his mother.

“The incident brought to light the issue of second-generation members. I want to know about [Yamagami’s] motivations in detail through his trial,” Toshiko Nanri, 77, from Osaka Prefecture, said outside a train station where Abe was gunned down.

Akie Abe (right), the widow of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, is pictured after attending a memorial ceremony near the Abe family grave in Nagato in Yamaguchi Prefecture on the second anniversary of his assassination. Photo: Kyodo

A 20-year-old male university student said, “The audience could have been harmed. Baggage checks should be conducted as much as possible during a campaign speech.”