Tetsuya Yamagami, the alleged assassin of Japan's former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, exits a police station in Nara, western Japan, on July 10, 2022, on his way to local prosecutors' office. Yamagami is expected to face murder charges Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, in Japan's highest profile case in recent years.
One of his lawyers, Masaaki Furukawa, told The Associated Press on Thursday that he expects prosecutors to charge Yamagami with murder and gun control law violations.Given the complexity of the case, it will take months before his trial begins, he said. Police say Yamagami told them that he killed Abe, one of Japan’s most influential and divisive politicians, because of Abe’s apparent links to a religious group that he hated. In his statements and in social media postings attributed to him, Yamagami said he developed a grudge because his mother had made massive donations to the Unification Church which bankrupted his family and ruined his life.
Some Japanese have expressed sympathy for Yamagami, especially those who also suffered as children of followers of the South Korea-based Unification Church, which is known for pressuring adherents into making big donations and is considered a cult in Japan.