the alleged murderer of Shinzo Abe started planning his attack on the former prime minister last fall, according to evidence collected by the Japanese police, which also suggests that the suspect carried out detailed preparations for the attack.
Authorities believe the suspect decided to attempt to murder Shinzo Abe following seeing last September a video message recorded by the former president for an organization affiliated with the Unification Church, which the alleged murderer “hated”, according to details collected by the Japanese media.
The detainee, Tetsuya Yamagamiconfessed to the police that had attacked Shinzo Abe for his alleged ties to a religious organization that had caused family problems.
The Japanese branch of unification church confirmed the day before that Yamagami’s mother was a member of this group, and did not want to comment on the alleged donations that the woman would have made to the organization and that would have bankrupted it, according to the detainee’s account.
Tetsuya Yamagami he also told the police that his idea was initially to attack some leader of the religious organization, before marking Shinzo Abe as a target.
The assassination of Shinzo Abe
The suspect chose the rally he held Shinzo Abe last Friday in the city of Nara (west) to carry out his attack, following having contemplated trying it in another speech by the politician the day before, which was held in an auditorium in another city and with restricted access.
Last Friday’s rally took place at street level in front of a train station, and with a security device made up of several agents, but without any physical separation between the politician and the citizens who wanted to hear him, something that is common in political events of this type in Japan.
Tetsuya Yamagami He went to the scene an hour and a half before the attack, according to the images captured by the security cameras, apparently in search of an optimal position to carry out his plans.
The attacker approached Abe from behind and he shot him for the first time from a distance of seven meters, and five meters on the second occasion. He used a weapon similar to a home-made shotgun.
The murder weapon consisted of two metal tubes attached with adhesive tape and mounted on a wooden panel, and was capable of launching up to six projectiles with each shot, which gave it greater precision and lethality, according to the detainee himself.
Yamagami received training in the assembly and use of firearms when he worked for the Maritime Self-Defense Forces (army) of Japan between 2002 and 2005.
He began making his own weapons regarding a year ago, inspired by videos he found online, and also purchased the gunpowder used in the attack online, he told authorities. (EFE)
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