Moonie Church Likely Motive In Abe’s Assassination

Reuters reports:

The mother of the man arrested for the killing of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe is a member of the Unification Church, the head of its Japanese arm said on Monday.

Tetsuya Yamagami, an unemployed 41-year-old, has been identified by police as the suspect who approached Abe and opened fire during a campaign speech on Friday.

Yamagami believed Abe had promoted a religious group to which his mother made a “huge donation”, Kyodo news agency has said, citing investigative sources. Yamagami told police his mother went bankrupt from the donation, the Yomiuri newspaper and other media have reported.

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Mother of Abe killing suspect is a Unification Church member, church says https://t.co/EpKmEYN7hM pic.twitter.com/mt18qK7tnc

— Reuters (@Reuters) July 11, 2022

The church, whose members are notably referred to as Moonies, supports Korean reunification, decrys communism and supports politically conservative causes. Shinzo Abe and even Donald Trump have all been friendly with the church in the past. #安倍晋三 #統一教会 pic.twitter.com/LEiOnVJGQe

— Greg R. Hill | ヒル・グレッグ (@greghill) July 8, 2022