Lagatar24 Desk
Tokyo, Jan 13: Japanese prosecutors on Friday indicted Tetsuya Yamagami, the man suspected of killing former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
As per information, the Nara District Public Prosecutors Office charged Yamagami, with murder charges for violating gun laws after completing psychiatric evaluation that lasted about six months.
Yamagami was arrested on the spot on July 8 for shooting the prime minister with a handmade gun while the former premier was giving a speech at an election campaign in the western city of Nara.
He reportedly held a grudge against the Unification Church for impoverishing his family, saying it persuaded his mother to donate around 100 million yen and blamed Abe for promoting the religious organisation.
ALSO READ: OIC asks Taliban to reconsider ban on women from working for NGOs
The Unification Church was founded in South Korea in 1954 and is famous for its mass weddings, where Japanese followers are the main source of income.
Yamagami has been undergoing psychiatric evaluation since his arrest to determine if he is mentally fit for trial. His detention period evaluation expired on Tuesday.
The killing shed light on evidence that reveals deep and longstanding ties between the church and Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmakers. The LDP has denied any organizational link to the church, but has acknowledged that many lawmakers have ties to the religious group.
Abe (67), the former Liberal Democratic Party leader and Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, held office from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020, before resigning due to health reasons.
