After the attack on Shinzo Abe, there are first clues as to the perpetrator's motive. Authorities said he shot because of Abe's proximity to certain religious circles. The phrase "certain" used by Japan's media fuels speculation.
The assassin of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is said to have originally targeted the leader of a religious group. The Japanese news agency Kyodo learned from investigators that the 41-year-old Japanese man who had been arrested the day before testified during the interrogation. The day before, the man had shot Abe from behind with a homemade gun from a distance of three meters while he was giving a campaign speech in the city of Nara. He was "dissatisfied" with Abe and wanted to "kill" him, he was quoted as saying. He hates a "certain organization" that Abe is connected to.
The vague term "certain" religious organization conveyed by the Japanese media fueled speculation on the Internet that it could possibly be the controversial Unification Church of the late Korean sect founder San Myung Mun. Also known as the Mun Sect, the Unification Church has members in many countries, including Japan, and supports conservative political causes. Politicians like former US President Donald Trump and Abe are considered friendly towards her. Mun, who was strongly anti-Communist, founded it in 1954.
As the public television broadcaster NHK learned from investigative circles on Saturday, the assassin is said to have testified that his mother had joined the "certain organization" and had donated a lot of money to her, which had shattered the family. The assassination had caused horror all over the world. Japan is considered one of the safest countries in the world and has extremely strict gun laws. The assassination happened shortly before elections to the upper house of the national parliament this Sunday. Despite the assassination, they should take place as planned, the government said.
The assassination meanwhile raised questions as to why the security personnel on site could not prevent the attack with a home-made firearm. "I don't think there are enough firearm precautions in Japan with its strict gun laws," an expert on personal protection was quoted as saying by the Japanese newspaper "Nikkei". According to media reports, the National Police Authority now wants to review its security protocol for celebrities for deficiencies.
