Suspect in shooting of Japan’s Shinzo Abe thought to have trained in rifle use
Investigators are seeking a motive in the Shinzo Abe killing and the former Japanese prime minister’s body has been sent to his home for a wake.
The suspect in the fatal shooting of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe likely trained in rifle shooting and maintenance while in the navy, according to military records, as investigators continued to seek a motive for the attack.
On Saturday, hundreds of mourners lined up to offer condolences at the site of the shooting in the western city of Nara, and Mr Abe’s remains were brought back to his family residence in Tokyo.
Police have detained Tetsuya Yamagami, a 41-year-old resident of Nara, on suspicion of the attack.
On Friday, they said he told them he targeted Mr Abe because he believed the former prime minister had links to a group that Yamagami held a grudge against.
National broadcaster NHK reported that Yamagami said his mother had run into personal problems after giving too much money to a religious organisation. The police declined to provide further details of Yamagami’s testimony.
“We’re currently questioning the suspect to find out what steps he took, what motivated him, and his background. He’s been confessing in an indifferent fashion,” Nara Prefecture Police Chief Tomoaki Onizuka said in a news conference.
The police have said he told them he fired shots at Mr Abe.
Investigators are looking into how Yamagami possessed an apparent homemade gun, as well as other improvised weapons found in his apartment. Gun ownership is highly restricted in Japan and generally only allowed for hunting and sports shooting.
A public affairs officer at the Maritime Self-Defence Force, Japan’s navy, said a man with the same name and birth date as Yamagami served on a destroyer as part of a three-year stint in the service through 2005.
During his training period, the person would have learned the basics of rifle shooting and maintenance, including how to take the weapon apart, the official said. Members of the military also receive refresher training in gun use once a year.
The person belonged to a unit that handled weapons on the destroyer, the official said.
Mr Abe, 67, was killed while campaigning for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party for national elections scheduled for Sunday. Candidates and senior-party members from across the political spectrum continued to campaign a day after the attack, some with increased security.
A wake will be held for Mr Abe on Monday, followed by a funeral on Tuesday, according to his office.
Tributes to Mr Abe continued to flow on Saturday. Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a message to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in which he said Mr Abe made valuable contributions to the improvement of China-Japan relations, according to Chinese state media.
In Taiwan, President Tsai Ing-wen ordered that all flags at government institutions and schools be lowered at half-staff for a day on Monday in honour of Mr Abe.
The assassination of Mr Abe just before lunchtime on a busy street corner has been met with disbelief in a country where few have ever seen a gun drawn, let alone used one.
“Why did this happen in Japan?” said Maiko Kurihara, a 41-year-old resident of Nara, the city where Mr Abe, a former prime minister, was gunned down a day earlier. Like many others, Ms Kurihara came to the site of the attack with a bouquet of flowers.
Yoshihiro Sakamoto, a 81-year-old retiree from outside Nara, wiped his tears with a towel after offering white and yellow chrysanthemums — flowers associated with mourning — on a table near the spot Mr Abe was shot.
“We can no longer feel assured that Japan is peaceful,” Mr Sakamoto said.
A line of mourners grew steadily longer on Saturday morning despite sweltering temperatures and a sudden rain shower. Several expressed their disbelief at the use of a gun in the attack and their regret at the loss of one of Japan’s most influential modern leaders.
Shooting deaths are extremely rare in Japan. Over the five years to 2021, there were fewer than four each year on average and only one last year, according to police data. The figures don’t include suicides or accidents.
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