TOKYO (AP) – Japanese prosecutors have formally charged the suspect in the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with murder and put him on trial, a court said on Friday.
Tetsuya Yamagami was arrested immediately after he allegedly shot Abe with a homemade gun when the former leader was delivering a campaign speech outside a train station in Nara, western Japan, in July. He then underwent a nearly six-month psychiatric evaluation, which prosecutors said showed he was fit for a trial.
Yamagami was also charged with violating a gun control law, according to the Nara District Court.
Police said Yamagami told them he killed Abe, one of Japan’s most influential and divisive politicians, because of Abe’s apparent ties to a religious group he hated. In his statements and in social media posts attributed to him, Yamagami said he developed a grudge because his mother made massive donations to the Unification Church that bankrupted his family and ruined his life.
One of his attorneys, Masaaki Furukawa, told The Associated Press on Thursday that Yamagami must accept responsibility for the grave consequences of his alleged actions and that his defense attorneys will do their best to reduce his sentence.
Japanese law allows the death penalty for murder, but experts say the death penalty is usually imposed for multiple murders and Yamagami could face life in prison if convicted.
No date has been set for his trial, which is expected to have a panel of civil jurors in addition to the usual bench judges – as in murder cases and other serious criminal cases in Japan. Because of the complexity of the case, it would be months before his trial begins, Furukawa said.
Police are also reportedly considering adding several charges including manufacturing weapons, violating the Explosives Control Act and damaging buildings.
Some Japanese have expressed sympathy for Yamagami, particularly those who also suffered as children of followers of the South Korea-based Unification Church, known for urging adherents to make large donations and considered a cult in Japan.
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Thousands of people have signed a petition asking for leniency for Yamagami, and others have sent aid packages to his relatives or the detention center.
The investigation into the case has led to revelations about years of close ties between Abe’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the church, since Abe’s grandfather, former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, helped the church gain a foothold in Japan in the 1960s over shared interests in conservatives and anti-communist causes.
Current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s popularity has plummeted over his handling of the church controversy and his insistence on holding a rare, controversial state funeral for Abe.
To remove ministers with church ties, Kishida reshuffled his cabinet in August, but a later release of the party inquiry in September showed church ties among nearly half of its 400 national lawmakers.
Kishida, who said he has no ties to the church, promised his party lawmakers would cut ties with the group, and his government has launched an investigation that could potentially strip the church of its religious status.
The government also passed legislation designed to help victims of the church’s fundraising practices, although experts say the measure is insufficient.