TOKYO—The man suspected of killing
Shinzo Abe
could have focused the previous Japanese chief as a result of he perceived a hyperlink between Mr. Abe and a church that acquired cash from the suspect’s mom earlier than she went bankrupt, a church chief mentioned.
At a information convention, the top of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, an offshoot of a church based in South Korea by the Rev. Moon Sun-myung, gave the primary detailed account of the background of
Tetsuya Yamagami,
the person arrested within the killing on Friday of Japan’s longest-serving prime minister.
Tomihiro Tanaka,
the Japan church’s chairman, mentioned that Mr. Yamagami’s mom joined the church within the late Nineteen Nineties, made donations and recurrently attended occasions however went bankrupt in 2002.
The church chief additionally mentioned that Mr. Abe had spoken at occasions organized by a gaggle that was arrange by Mr. Moon to advertise peace. Mr. Tanaka mentioned the previous prime minister was neither a member of nor an adviser to the Family Federation itself. The church and the opposite group have pleasant ties however are separate our bodies, he mentioned.
“I’m speculating, but maybe he [Mr. Yamagami] failed to distinguish between us and our sister group. He saw these all as the same because their founder is the same,” Mr. Tanaka mentioned.
Police say Mr. Yamagami has advised them he wished to kill Mr. Abe as a result of he believed the previous prime minister had connections to a gaggle that he wished to focus on. The police haven’t recognized the group.
On Monday, police mentioned they’d discovered marks much like bullet holes in a constructing on the grounds of the group. Mr. Yamagami advised police he fired pictures on the constructing within the early morning of July 7. Police additionally say they’ve discovered picket boards at which Mr. Yamagami says he fired to check weapons, and a tray used to dry gunpowder.
Strict gun-control legal guidelines make it almost not possible for many Japanese individuals to personal a gun, and the nation was shocked by the killing of its former chief Friday as he spoke on a road within the metropolis of Nara throughout an election marketing campaign. Police say Mr. Yamagami used a selfmade weapon.
Mr. Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party, now headed by Prime Minister
Fumio Kishida,
received the election Sunday, and Mr. Kishida mentioned Monday he wished to maneuver as shortly as attainable to revise the nation’s structure to clarify the function of its army—a longtime objective of Mr. Abe.
The Family Federation is an offshoot of the South Korea-based Unification Church, which grew to become well-known for its mass weddings. At its peak within the Seventies and Nineteen Eighties, the Unification Church had thousands and thousands of members in Europe and the Americas. The church’s Japan arm additionally grew shortly.
The Unification Church was shaped by Mr. Moon, who together with his spouse additionally arrange the Universal Peace Federation, a corporation that holds conferences meant to advertise peace. Mr. Moon died in 2012.
Mr. Abe gave a prerecorded video handle at a convention held by the Universal Peace Federation in September 2021, after he left the prime minister’s publish, and despatched a message to be learn out at one other federation occasion this February, in accordance with recordings of the occasions. The occasions are often held in South Korea and have outstanding worldwide figures. Former Vice President
Mike Pence
attended the occasion in February.
At the press convention in Tokyo, Mr. Tanaka mentioned that Mr. Yamagami’s mom began coming to the church once more a couple of years in the past following a virtually decadelong hiatus, however then stopped coming once more round two months in the past.
Mr. Tanaka mentioned church followers had skilled bother up to now associated to their donations, however the church had improved its inner monitoring to stop such occurrences. He mentioned members of the church can usually determine the quantity of their donations, and it didn’t search funds from followers who had gone bankrupt.
The church official declined to say how a lot Mr. Yamagami’s mom had donated to the church.
Mr. Tanaka mentioned the church wasn’t certain why the mom fell out of business, and “I believe this is the biggest issue the police will be looking into.” The church will cooperate totally, he mentioned.
He mentioned that if investigations discover the mom’s donations motivated Mr. Yamagami to kill Mr. Abe, “we will take it very seriously.”
—Jiyoung Sohn in Seoul contributed to this text.
Write to Alastair Gale at [email protected] and Miho Inada at [email protected]
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