On Friday, Japanese media quoted Yamagami’s uncle, whose name was not released, as saying that the suspect’s mother joined the church in 1991, several years after the death of her husband.
When his mother filed for bankruptcy in 2002, putting the suspect’s siblings in financial difficulty, Yamagami tried to kill himself to get death insurance to help them, the uncle said. He also said Yamagami’s mother is devastated by her son’s alleged crime.
Police said Yamagami, who was a Self-Defense Force member from 2002 to 2005, test-fired a weapon before the attack at multiple targets in the mountains of Nara, apparently to examine their effectiveness.
Investigators found a concrete block, a wooden panel and a metal container with bullet holes in them and what they believe were bullets scattered in the area.
Police said the suspect was seen near Abe’s speech venue in another city the day before the attack. Earlier on that day, the suspect test-fired his gun at a building related to the church.
The Asahi newspaper reported Friday that Yamagami had plotted a Molotov cocktail attack on the church’s leader, Hak Ja Han Moon, during her visit to central Japan in 2019 but could not access the venue for the large gathering.
The suspect reportedly changed his target to Abe after the pandemic-related border restrictions, thinking it would be difficult for Han Moon, who is Korean, to visit Japan.
Abe’s governing party and its junior coalition partner, Komeito, won a landslide victory in the election, helped in part by sympathy votes for Abe.
A smaller funeral was held Tuesday at a temple in Tokyo. Kishida on Thursday announced plans to hold a state ceremony for Abe in the fall.
Japanese Communist Party leader Kazuo Shii on Friday opposed the plan, saying in a statement, “The state funeral will mean a full government endorsement for Mr Abe’s political views, which are actually largely divided among the public, and praise and glorify his politics.”
The use of tax money for a state funeral for the divisive leader also received mixed reactions from other opposition leaders.