The suspect in the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe admitted to the police that he initially was planning to target the leader of a religious group to which his mother had made substantial donations, to the point of meeting financial problems, Japanese news agency Kyodo reported on Saturday.
Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, had already shared with the police his resentment towards this organisation with the suspect believing Shinzo Abe was connected to it. The reason why the suspect would have changed his target is however still unclear.
On Friday, the 67-year-old former leader was giving a speech for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (PLD), ahead of Sunday’s senatorial elections when shots rang out around 11:30 a.m. local time (4:30 a.m. Belgian time). He was hit in the neck and collapsed, before being taken to hospital. He was pronounced dead a few hours later.
Abe's remains back in Tokyo
The shooter was able to approach the former prime minister and fired two shots with a seemingly homemade weapon, while access to firearms is strictly regulated in the Japanese archipelago. Shinzo Abe’s remains arrived at his home in Tokyo in the early afternoon, local time, on Saturday.
Credit: Belga
According to local media, a wake is scheduled for Monday evening and the funeral will take place on Tuesday, with only the family and relatives of Mr Abe in attendance.
Since Friday evening, many people have gathered at the scene of the attack to pay tribute to the man who, with four terms, was the statesman the longest in office.
