Shinzo Abe was not a member of the church, although he appeared at an event hosted by an organization affiliated with it, a spokesman said.
July 11, 2022
By Reuters
TOKYO — The mother of the man arrested for the killing of former Japanese leader Shinzo Abe is a member of the Unification Church, the church’s Japan head said on Monday.
Tetsuya Yamagami, an unemployed 41-year-old, was identified by police as the suspect who approached Abe and opened fire during a campaign speech on Friday, an attack that was captured on video and shocked a nation where gun violence is rare.
Yamagami believed Abe had promoted a religious group to which his mother made a “huge donation,” Kyodo news agency has said, citing investigative sources. Yamagami told police his mother went bankrupt from the donation, the Yomiuri newspaper and other media have reported.
Tomihiro Tanaka, president of the Japan branch of Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, known as the Unification Church, told reporters at a briefing in Tokyo that Yamagami’s mother was a member of the church. He did not give her name.
Tanaka declined to comment on her donations, citing the ongoing police investigation.
Tetsuya Yamagami, who confessed to shooting former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in police custody on Sunday. Nobuki Ito / AP
Neither Abe nor the man arrested for his shooting were members of the church, Tanaka said. Abe was also not an adviser to the church, Tanaka said, adding the church would cooperate with police on the investigation if asked to do so.
Abe appeared at an event hosted by an organization affiliated with the church last September where he delivered a speech praising the affiliate’s work towards peace on the Korean peninsula, according to the church’s website.
Reuters was not immediately able to contact Yamagami’s mother and could not determine whether she belonged to any other religious organizations.
Police have confirmed that the suspect said he held a grudge against a specific organization, but have not named it.
Yamagami’s mother first joined the church around 1998 but stopped attending in a period between 2009 and 2017, Tanaka said. About two to three years ago she re-established communication with church members and in the last half year or so has been attending church events at a frequency of about once a month, he said.
The Unification Church was founded in South Korea in 1954 by Sun Myung Moon, a self-declared messiah and strident anti-communist. It has gained global media attention for its mass weddings where it marries thousands of couples at a time.
Moon, who spoke fluent Japanese, launched an anti-communist political campaign in Japan from late 1960s and built relations with Japanese politicians, according to the church’s publications.
Moon died in 2012. The church has about 600,000 members in Japan, out of 10 million globally, Tanaka said.
Neither Abe nor the man arrested for his shooting were members of the church, Tanaka said. Abe was also not an adviser to the church, Tanaka said, adding the church would cooperate with police on the investigation if asked to do so.
Abe appeared at an event hosted by an organization affiliated with the church last September where he delivered a speech praising the affiliate’s work towards peace on the Korean peninsula, according to the church’s website.
Reuters was not immediately able to contact Yamagami’s mother and could not determine whether she belonged to any other religious organizations.
Police have confirmed that the suspect said he held a grudge against a specific organization, but have not named it.
Yamagami’s mother first joined the church around 1998 but stopped attending in a period between 2009 and 2017, Tanaka said. About two to three years ago she re-established communication with church members and in the last half year or so has been attending church events at a frequency of about once a month, he said.
The Unification Church was founded in South Korea in 1954 by Sun Myung Moon, a self-declared messiah and strident anti-communist. It has gained global media attention for its mass weddings where it marries thousands of couples at a time.
Moon, who spoke fluent Japanese, launched an anti-communist political campaign in Japan from late 1960s and built relations with Japanese politicians, according to the church’s publications.
Moon died in 2012. The church has about 600,000 members in Japan, out of 10 million globally, Tanaka said.
Religious Group Confirms Mom of Alleged Abe Killer Was a Member
Isabel Reynolds and Sangmi Cha
Mon, July 11, 2022 a
(Bloomberg) -- The Japanese affiliate of a South Korean-founded religious group confirmed the mother of the person charged with assassinating former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is a member, as claimed by his alleged killer.
The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, formerly known as the Unification Church, held a briefing for selected Japanese news organizations on Monday, according to a member of the public relations staff at the religious group’s Tokyo office, who asked not to be identified by name.
At the briefing, the head of the organization confirmed the mother of the man indicted for Abe’s murder, Tetsuya Yamagami, was a member since the 1990s and attended events once a month or so, Japanese broadcaster FNN reported on Monday. The official, who wasn’t identified, declined to comment on donations, and said Abe had contributed to events hosted by a related organization, the report said.
Separately, a representative of the organization in Seoul said by phone that Abe himself wasn’t a member. The US branch of the group issued a statement condemning the attack and saying: “Guns have no place in our religious beliefs or practices.”
Abe, the country’s longest-serving premier, was fatally shot while on the campaign trail in the western city of Nara on Friday. His death sent shock waves through a country where gun violence is rare and generated an outpouring of sympathy from around the globe.
Domestic media reports from Kyodo News and others have said the suspect blamed an unspecified religious group for his family’s financial woes after his mother became an enthusiastic member and made large donations, resulting in her bankruptcy.
The 41-year-old had wanted to kill a senior member of the group, but targeted Abe because he believed the former leader had close connections to the religion, according to the Yomiuri newspaper and other media. The alleged shooter denied any political motivation for the killing, public broadcaster NHK and other media said, citing police.
Founded in South Korea by Sun Myung Moon in May 1954, the religious organization all around the world, including Japan and the US. Moon, who declared that he and his wife were messiahs, has been at the center of controversy and convicted of tax evasion in the US back in the 1980s.
The church is known for organizing arranged marriages and holding mass wedding ceremonies. The group says on its website that it’s “a duly registered religious nonprofit organization” and it’s focused on “creating world peace through the family: the school of love.”
Biden Sent Condolence to Japan Ex-PM Abe’s Family, Blinken Says
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken paid a brief visit to Tokyo on Monday to deliver a personal letter of condolence from President Joe Biden to current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Kishida’s ruling coalition won a solid victory in Sunday’s election, but the atmosphere has remained somber following the death of his former boss just two days earlier.
A wake is to be held for Abe in Tokyo on Monday evening, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party said in a statement. The funeral will be on Tuesday attended by family only, NHK reported.
Isabel Reynolds and Sangmi Cha
Mon, July 11, 2022 a
(Bloomberg) -- The Japanese affiliate of a South Korean-founded religious group confirmed the mother of the person charged with assassinating former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is a member, as claimed by his alleged killer.
The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, formerly known as the Unification Church, held a briefing for selected Japanese news organizations on Monday, according to a member of the public relations staff at the religious group’s Tokyo office, who asked not to be identified by name.
At the briefing, the head of the organization confirmed the mother of the man indicted for Abe’s murder, Tetsuya Yamagami, was a member since the 1990s and attended events once a month or so, Japanese broadcaster FNN reported on Monday. The official, who wasn’t identified, declined to comment on donations, and said Abe had contributed to events hosted by a related organization, the report said.
Separately, a representative of the organization in Seoul said by phone that Abe himself wasn’t a member. The US branch of the group issued a statement condemning the attack and saying: “Guns have no place in our religious beliefs or practices.”
Abe, the country’s longest-serving premier, was fatally shot while on the campaign trail in the western city of Nara on Friday. His death sent shock waves through a country where gun violence is rare and generated an outpouring of sympathy from around the globe.
Domestic media reports from Kyodo News and others have said the suspect blamed an unspecified religious group for his family’s financial woes after his mother became an enthusiastic member and made large donations, resulting in her bankruptcy.
The 41-year-old had wanted to kill a senior member of the group, but targeted Abe because he believed the former leader had close connections to the religion, according to the Yomiuri newspaper and other media. The alleged shooter denied any political motivation for the killing, public broadcaster NHK and other media said, citing police.
Founded in South Korea by Sun Myung Moon in May 1954, the religious organization all around the world, including Japan and the US. Moon, who declared that he and his wife were messiahs, has been at the center of controversy and convicted of tax evasion in the US back in the 1980s.
The church is known for organizing arranged marriages and holding mass wedding ceremonies. The group says on its website that it’s “a duly registered religious nonprofit organization” and it’s focused on “creating world peace through the family: the school of love.”
Biden Sent Condolence to Japan Ex-PM Abe’s Family, Blinken Says
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken paid a brief visit to Tokyo on Monday to deliver a personal letter of condolence from President Joe Biden to current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Kishida’s ruling coalition won a solid victory in Sunday’s election, but the atmosphere has remained somber following the death of his former boss just two days earlier.
A wake is to be held for Abe in Tokyo on Monday evening, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party said in a statement. The funeral will be on Tuesday attended by family only, NHK reported.
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