Shinzo Abe assassination: Suspect charged with murder in fatal shooting of Japan's former prime minister

Prosecutors in Japan have formally charged the man suspected of assassinating former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with murder.

The suspect, Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, was arrested right after he allegedly shot Abe with a homemade gun, as the former leader was making a campaign speech in July outside a train station in Nara in western Japan.

Yamagami underwent a nearly six-month mental evaluation, which ended Tuesday. He was found fit to stand trial, according to prosecutors.

Yamagami was also charged with violating a gun control law, according to the Nara District Court.

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Police have said Yamagami told them that he killed Abe, one of Japan’s most influential and divisive politicians, because of Abe’s apparent links to a religious group that he hated. 

In his statements and in social media postings attributed to him, Yamagami said he developed a grudge because his mother had made massive donations to the Unification Church that bankrupted his family and ruined his life.

A lawyer for Yamagami told the Associated Press that it will likely be several months before his trial begins due to the complexity of the case.

Police are also reportedly considering adding several allegations, including weapons production, violation to explosives control law and causing damage to buildings.

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Some Japanese have expressed sympathy for Yamagami, especially those who also suffered as children of followers of the South Korea-based Unification Church, which is known for pressuring adherents into making big donations and is considered a cult in Japan.

Thousands of people have signed a petition requesting leniency for Yamagami, and others have sent care packages to his relatives or the detention center.

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Abe's assassination sent shockwaves throughout Japan and the world. The dramatic shooting was caught on video.

Abe was shot about two minutes and 20 seconds into his speech, according to Japanese news outlet NHK. 

Video captured prior to the shooting purportedly shows Yamagami scanning his surroundings while standing near a footpath behind Abe. 

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He then takes something out of a bag he was carrying and walks slowly toward Abe, coming several yards away from him, before raising the gun and opening fire, the station added.

Abe was Japan's longest-serving prime minister. He served from 2006 to 2007 and again in 2012 until he resigned in 2020 after his ulcerative colitis, a chronic condition, resurfaced, calling his decision at the time "gut-wrenching."

During his term, he focused on the economy, rebuilding Japan's military and being a larger player in international affairs. 

The Associated Press, Fox News' Brie Stimson and Greg Norman contributed to this report.

LAURA INGRAHAM: The American media ignored the longstanding corruption of Biden, Inc

Fox News host Laura Ingraham suggests three crucial questions she would ask pertaining to the Biden classified documents scandal on "The Ingraham Angle."

LAURA INGRAHAM: Merrick Garland doesn't believe Biden did anything wrong and he won't change his mind regardless of what we learn, and ditto for most of the American media, because remember, there's no scandal here. This is Biden, after all. But if there's a scandal, it's that Biden and his administration spent the past two years trying to smear his predecessor as the media ignored the longstanding corruption of Biden, Inc. 

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Now that a special counsel's been appointed, you can bet the press will pretty quickly pivot to covering their preferred stories like George Santos and the Proud Boys. But if I were in the press gallery, here are a few questions I'd ask. First — and this goes to the chain of custody question regarding these documents — will the White House disclose visitor logs of everyone who went into Biden's Wilmington residence and everyone who entered his Penn Center office? That log would cover the day the documents were brought there all the way to the day they were removed. 

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Second, do any of the documents refer to Biden family members, their business interests, including Burisma, either directly or indirectly? And third, where are those leaked photos of the documents splayed out on the floor once they were secured by federal authorities? Remember? They looked good in Mar-A-Lago, right?

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