Japan prosecutors to indict Abe shooter after psychiatric evaluation – Rip News

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 targeted Abe in the belief the former prime minister had links to the group, investigative sources have said.

According to Yamagami’s uncle and the church’s senior official, his mother made donations totalling about 100 million yen (US$753,000) to the group – formally known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification. Yamagami told investigators her repeated donations left his family in financial ruin.

His citing of the church’s ties with politics as a motive exposed links between some Japanese lawmakers and the church, prompting political parties, including the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, to probe their connections with the religious group, founded in South Korea in the 1950s.

The government is also inquiring into the church’s activities to assess whether it has been systematically involved in soliciting massive, financially ruinous donations from its members and their families.