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2 years on: Date of trial for Abe’s accused shooter still not set

Japan's Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio delivers a speech during a memorial service on the first death anniversary of former prime minister ABE Shinzo, at Meiji Kinenkan in Tokyo on July 8, 2023. (Photo by JIJI PRESS / AFP)
Japan's Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio delivers a speech during a memorial service on the first death anniversary of former prime minister ABE Shinzo, at Meiji Kinenkan in Tokyo on July 8, 2023. (Photo by JIJI PRESS / AFP)
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09 Jul 2024 12:07:24 GMT9
09 Jul 2024 12:07:24 GMT9

NARA: Two years after the fatal shooting of former Japanese Prime Minister ABE Shinzo in the western city of Nara, the date for the first hearing of a trial of his alleged killer has not been set yet.

Pretrial proceedings are still underway at Nara District Court, with attorneys for the 43-year-old accused shooter, Tetsuya Yamagami, saying that the trial will probably not begin this year.

Pretrial conferences have been held on four occasions so far.

The first conference was initially set for June last year, but was postponed to October the same year after a suspicious object was delivered to the court.

Yamagami, who has been indicted for murder and other charges, has attended three conferences, aiming to get a sense of what those at the court and prosecutors were thinking. He has been quoted as saying that he thought the pretrial proceedings were “simple” and “interesting.”

Shortly after the fatal shooting, Yamagami told investigators from Nara prefectural police that he thought the former prime minister had ties with the religious group known as the Unification Church, a group he had a grudge against due to his mother being a follower.

Following psychiatric evaluation and other procedures, the Nara District Public Prosecutors Office concluded that Yamagami could be held criminally responsible and indicted him in January last year.

The focal points of Yamagami’s trial are expected to be on his motive and his upbringing.

The incident has shed light on large donations to the religious group from followers and the struggles of some followers’ children.

In October last year, the culture ministry asked Tokyo District Court to issue an order to dissolve the group, and the court’s hearing process is currently underway.

According to the indictment, Yamagami allegedly killed Abe by shooting at close range with a homemade gun on July 8, 2022. Abe was delivering a stump speech at the time.

On Sunday morning, an altar was set up on the site of the shooting for floral tributes for Abe, with many people visiting the scene to offer prayers.

“Two years went by so quickly,” 43-year-old Mayumi Shimamura from Higashiosaka in neighboring Osaka Prefecture said. “I still can’t believe he’s gone.”

At a cemetery near the scene, a new stone monument was erected next to a cenotaph that was built in memory of Abe.

“I realized again that (Abe) had achieved amazing things,” Masao Inoue, a 53-year-old corporate employee from the city of Nara, said. “I hope he watches over us from heaven.”

JIJI Press

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