Photo:Tetsuya Yamagam
Why I killed ex-Japan prime minister —Suspect
The 41-year-old Japanese man, Tetsuya Yamagami, who confessed to shooting dead former prime minister Shinzo Abe has disclosed that he killed him because of the deceased’s links with a religious group in the country that was responsible for his mother’s bankruptcy.
The alleged assassin had on Friday shot Abe, Japan’s longest serving prime minister from behind with a home-made gun at close range during an election campaign speech in the city of Nara.
He said that he believed the former Japanese leader was linked to the religious group which he blamed for his mother’s financial ruin and so he spent months planning the attack with a homemade gun.
He said that he believed Abe had promoted the religious group to which his mother made a “huge donation” and later went bankrupt.
“My mother got wrapped up in a religious group and I resented it,” Japanese media reports quoted him as telling police.
He told investigators that he had been “dissatisfied” with Abe, held a grudge against him and the unnamed religious group over his mother’s poverty.
According to Japanese news agency, Kyodo, the suspect told investigators that he originally believed that his target was the leader of the religious group,
Yamagami is said to have jury-rigged the weapon from parts bought online, spending months plotting the attack.
He even attended other Abe campaign events, including one held just a day earlier some 200 km away.
The self-confessed killer had considered a bomb attack before opting for a gun, according to public broadcaster NHK.
He also told police that he made guns by wrapping steel pipes together with tape, some of them with three, five or six pipes, with parts he bought online.
The Japanese police now face many questions about how the shooting could have happened, with experts asking why those working in Abe’s security detail were unable to prevent the attack.
“I don’t think there are enough firearms precautions in Japan given its strict gun laws,” one security expert was quoted as saying by the Nikkei newspaper.
The National Police Agency now intends to review its security arrangements for the protection of prominent figures, according to media reports.
The police searched the perpetrator’s flat on Friday, seizing several other home-made firearms.
The alleged assassin was reportedly unemployed, but is believed to have served in the navy for three years before his discharge in 2005.
It is thought the suspect received handgun training during his time in the navy.
Japan is considered one of the safest countries in the world and has extremely strict gun laws.
The assassination happened in the run up to elections for the upper house of parliament on Sunday.
The vote took place as planned in spite of the attack.
Meanwhile, the remains of Abe were brought to Tokyo, a day after he was killed.
The body of the 67-year-old was accompanied by his widow, Akie Abe, as it was transported by ambulance.
Broadcaster NHK reported that the vehicle drove to the Abe residence, adding that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida paid a condolence visit.
Well-wishers have been leaving flowers at the site of the shooting.
