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The investigation into the assassination of 67-year-old former Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, is on-going. However, authorities now believe that they have found the motivation of suspected gunman Tetsuya Yamagami in allegedly carrying out the murder.
On July 8, Abe was delivering a speech while campaigning in Nara City when he was shot twice with an improvised gun. Tetsuya Yamagami, who was identified by Japanese authorities as the shooter, did not flee the scene after reportedly committing the crime.
According to the New York Post, 41-year-old Yamagami believed that Abe was a member of a "specific organization," which he opposed.
Yamagami did not specify what the organization stood for. However, authorities are still investigating the potential lead that caused the 41-year-old to reportedly assassinate Abe.
Initially, Yamagami told authorities that his issue with the former Prime Minister was not political in nature.
The investigation into the murder of Shinzo Abe
Authorities have discovered that Tetsuya Yamagami is a Nara resident. He was also a former member of the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force, the Naval branch of the Japanese Self Defense Forces.
He served from 2002 to 2005 and is currently unemployed.
In photos and videos from the scene, Yamagami stands 10 feet behind Shinzo Abe when he appears to pull out an improvised weapon and fire twice at the politician. According to Japanese authorities, he allegedly confessed to authorities that he intended to kill the politician.
As per the authorities, Yamagami said:
"I aimed to kill (Shinzo Abe)"
Contrary to his earlier claims, Yamagami later told authorities that he was dissatisfied with Abe, the longest serving Prime Minister in Japanese history.
As the investigations further developed, Yamagam implicated Abe as a member of a particular organization. However, authorities have reportedly never heard of the organization and cannot yet confirm its existence.
As Yamagami was arrested at the scene of the shooting, Abe was airlifted to a hospital. According to authorities, at the time, the former Japanese Prime Minister appeared to be in a state of cardiac arrest and passed away the same afternoon.
Fumio Kishida, the current Japanese Prime Minister, condemned the shooting in an official statement.
He said:
"I am simply speechless over the news of Abe’s death. This attack is an act of brutality that happened during the elections — the very foundation of our democracy — and is absolutely unforgivable."
According to some reports, several other weapons, including various improvised firearms and IEDs, were discovered in Yamagami's home by authorities. The bomb squad was called in to deal with the explosives.
