Japanese prosecutors formally charged the suspect within the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with homicide, sending him to face trial, a Japanese courtroom stated Friday.
Tetsuya Yamagami was arrested instantly after allegedly taking pictures Abe with a home made gun as the previous chief was making a marketing campaign speech in July exterior a practice station in Nara in western Japan.
Later that month, Yamagami was despatched to an Osaka detention middle for an almost six-month psychological analysis, which ended Tuesday. Yamagami is again in police custody in Nara.
Prosecutors stated outcomes of his psychological analysis confirmed he’s match to face trial. Yamagami was additionally charged with violating a gun management legislation, in keeping with the Nara District Court.
Police have stated Yamagami informed them that he killed Abe, certainly one of Japan’s most influential and divisive politicians, due to Abe’s obvious hyperlinks to a non secular group that he hated. In his statements and in social media postings attributed to him, Yamagami stated he developed a grudge as a result of his mom had made large donations to the Unification Church that bankrupted his household and ruined his life.
One of his legal professionals, Masaaki Furukawa, informed the Associated Press on Thursday that Yamagami was in good well being throughout his psychological analysis in Osaka when he was solely allowed to see his sister and three legal professionals.
Furukawa stated his trial is a severe case and contain a jury panel of residents. Due to the complexity of the case, it will take a minimum of a number of months earlier than his trial begins, he stated.
Police are additionally reportedly contemplating including a number of allegations, together with weapons manufacturing, vilation to explosives management legislation and inflicting harm to buildings.
Some Japanese have expressed sympathy for Yamagami, particularly those that additionally suffered as kids of followers of the South Korea-based Unification Church, which is thought for pressuring adherents into making massive donations and is taken into account a cult in Japan.
Thousands of individuals have signed a petition requesting leniency for Yamagami, and others have despatched care packages to his family or the detention middle.
The investigation into the case has led to revelations of years of cozy ties between Abe’s governing Liberal Democratic Party and the church since Abe’s grandfather, former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, helped the church take root in Japan within the Nineteen Sixties over shared pursuits in conservative and anti-communist causes.
Current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s reputation has plunged over his dealing with of the church controversy and for insisting on holding a uncommon, controversial state funeral for Abe.
nypost.com
