Tetsuya Yamagami, the 41-year-old man accused of killing Japanese former prime minister Shinzo Abe, leaves a police station in Nara, western Japan, on July 25. File Photo by Jiji Press/EPA-EFE
Dec. 24 (UPI) — Japanese prosecutors have decided to indict the man accused of assassinating former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, based on the results of a psychiatric evaluation, multiple reports indicated Saturday.
After examining Tetsuya Yamagami, 42, prosecutors determined he is mentally fit to stand trial, Kyodo News and national broadcaster NHK reported, citing police sources.
Statements during the examination, including those on how he made a firearm himself to shoot Abe, led the prosecutors to believe he was competent enough to be tried, the sources said.
The period of Yamagami’s detention for mental evaluation will expire Jan. 10 and the prosecutors are expected to indict him by Jan. 13, when his period of detention ends, the outlets reported.
Yamagami told investigators that he held a grudge against the Unification Church, a religious group known for its mass weddings and aggressive donation solicitations, after his mother’s large financial donations caused his family to fall apart. He said he targeted Abe in the belief the former prime minister had links to the group.
His mother reportedly made donations totaling $753,000 to the church.
Yamagami fatally shot the former prime minister on July 8 during an election campaign speech in Nara, Japan.
