Everything That is Known About the Killer of Shinzo Abe, Tetsuya Yamagami , So Far

Yesterday (8 July), a shocking tragedy happened: former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe was killed in front of a live audience.

At around 11:30am, Abe was shot twice from the back: one shot hitting his neck while the other hit his left collarbone.

Witnesses testified that the shooting began one or two minutes into the speech.

The shooter is Tetsuya Yamagami, a 41-year-old former member of the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force.

So, why had he committed such an act?

Everything That is Known About the Killer of Shinzo Abe, Tetsuya Yamagami , So Far

In Japan, gun violence is extremely rare, so before anything, let’s address the elephant in the room: how did Yamagami get hold of a firearm?

According to the police, they have “determined that [the gun] is clearly handmade in appearance, although our analysis is currently ongoing.”

Images of the gun show that it looks like two tubes wrapped together with black tape.

The police said that it’s about 40cm in length. When they went to his residence, they found other objects that look like handmade guns, too.

Yamagami had served in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force for three years under a fixed-term assignment. This basically meant that he was in the navy.

And according to Japan’s Ministry of Defense, they are trained on the structure of firearms and how to use them.

To add on, soldiers serving in the Singapore Armed Forces are also trained on this as well.

Yamagami then started work in the private sector in 2020, and there hasn’t been any issue with his work then. He quit in May.

According to a person who worked with him, he was quiet and “didn’t seem aggressive”, and believed that he didn’t have any political beliefs.

His neighbour also claimed that there hasn’t been any conflict in the flat he lives in.

So, what happened to the man?

Grudge Against “Specific Organsation”

For a start, despite the fact that Shinzo Abe was campaigning during the attack, Yamagami’s motive isn’t political.

Instead, he admitted to the police that he had killed Abe as he believed that Abe is linked to a “specific organisation”, and he had a grudge against the organisation.

The police didn’t reveal the name of the organisation.

That grudge is, however, unrelated to Abe’s political beliefs. Yamagami even added that he did not resent his political beliefs.

During the interview with the police, Yamagami had answered answers calmly.

The attack was a planned one: Yamagami had checked Abe’s whereabouts on a website that shows Abe’s schedule for campaign speeches.

He then took a train to the site.

While he has planned it, Abe’s political party said that they didn’t receive any threats prior to the attack.

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Featured Image: Kyodo