According to sources, the suspect in the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe revealed personal justifications for the murder. The alleged shooter, Tetsuya Yamagami, spent months planning the killing because he believed Abe was involved with a religious group that was responsible for his mother’s financial demise. Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-serving Prime Minister, died on Friday, July 8, after being shot while making a campaign speech in Nara.
Yamagami, 41, is suspected of approaching Shinzo Abe as he stood on a platform at a crossroads and fired two bullets from a 40-cm-long pistol wrapped in black tape. Following then, video footage showed him being tackled by officers. Shinzo Abe, the suspect was confident, had backed an obscure religious group to whom his mother had provided money. When questioned by authorities about the motives behind his conduct, he stated:
“My mother became involved with a religious organization, which I despised.”
However, Nara police declined to comment on Yamagami’s intentions. Meanwhile, the religious group with whom he supposedly disagreed was not revealed by the media.
More information has come out on the shooter. He is a 41 year old man named Yamagami Tetsuya. He served three years in the Naval SDF until 2005. When questioned, he said that he was dissatisfied with Abe so decided to k*II him. pic.twitter.com/aXxLsjta63
— Masaki (@MasakiJinzaburo) July 8, 2022
The shooter who assassinated Shinzo Abe planned the assault for months.
Yamagami was upset that his mother had given money to a religious group that he believed Shinzo Abe was engaged in promoting. Yamagami reportedly spent a long time organizing his assault. This includes attending events at which Shinzo Abe spoke.
Yamagami allegedly built the 16-inch weapon at home using internet components. He considered employing a bomb before choosing on a rifle, according to NHK, a public media network. He informed authorities that he assembled guns by taping steel pipes together using components he acquired online. According to a representative for the Japanese Navy, Tetsuya Yamagami served in the Maritime Self-Defense Force from 2002 to 2005. The official did not specify if this was the same individual suspected of assassinating Shinzo Abe.
In response to the manufacture of firearms, one senior Navy officer stated:
“Members of the Self-Defense Force train with live ammunition once a year throughout their service. They also handle weapons maintenance.” “However, since they are following instructions, it’s difficult to imagine they learn enough to create firearms.”
Even army personnel who have been serving “for a long time” do not know how to produce firearms. Yamagami was a recluse who didn’t socialize with his neighbors, according to his neighbors. Yamagami was not enjoying the high life. He resided on the eighth level of a tiny apartment building. The lower level is dominated by bars and a defunct karaoke company. One of his neighbors, a 69-year-old lady who lives one level below him, described his conduct, saying she saw him a few days before the killing.
In an interview with Reuters, she stated:
“I said hello, but he didn’t respond. He was not wearing a mask and was just staring down at the ground to the side. He seemed tense. It was as though I were invisible. He seemed to be bothered by something.”
Yamagami was a loner, according to his neighbors. He stayed to himself and did not communicate with others.