Tetsuya Yamagami blames religion for Shinzo Abe assassination. His mother is a follower of Unification Church.
The 41-year-old suspect shot dead the former Prime Minister using a handgun. Yamagami’s case has taken another dimension after a report came out that his mother had made huge donations to the Unification Church bankrupting the family.
There was no money left for Yamagami to continue with his studies. With the family left with nothing, Yamagami lost track of his life. Now Yamagami blames religion for Shinzo Abe assassination.
Following the report, people in Japan have shown their sympathy to the suffering Yamagami, some were even willing to make donations to cheer him up at the detention center. Others have got to an extent of signing a petition that push for Yamagami’s prosecutorial leniency.
Kimiaki Nishida, a psychology professor at Rissho University, said that Yamagami deserves sympathy if he is innocent of the murder case. Kimiaki also cited that there are a lot of children out their suffering as Yamagami.
“If he hadn’t allegedly committed the crime, Mr. Yamagami would deserve much sympathy. There are many others who also suffer” because of their parents’ Kimiaki Nishida said.
Yamagami is currently in detention undergoing mental evaluation. He had previously shown his hatred for his mother’s church. The Unification Church was founded in 1954 but since 1980, it has faced a series of accusations.
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There are claims that the Unification Church allegedly brainwash their followers making them make huge donations. Its believed that Yamagami’s mother’s decision to make the donations was due to brainwashing.
Yamagami wrote saying that his life was completely destroyed by the move his mother made.
“After my mother joined the church (in the 1990s), my entire teenage years were gone, with some 100 million yen ($735,000) wasted,”
“It’s not an exaggeration to say my experience during that time has kept distorting my entire life.” Yamagami wrote before the assassination of the former Prime Minister.
Before Yamagami’s father died by committing suicide, he was a manager at a company founded by Yamagami’s grandfather. He left the company to Yamagami’s mother who instead of growing it, started selling its properties.
Moments later after the death of her husband, Yamagami’s mother joined a Unification Church. She then started making huge donations from money made from company’s sold property.
By 2000, the company was closed. At this moment, Yamagami’s mother had made up to $440,000 in donations. The family became officially bankrupt in 2002. Hence, Yamagami blames religion for Abe assassination.
The former Japanese Prime Minister was a supporter of Unification Church. In September 2021, he cited that the church had led to peace. He also said that the church focused on family values. According to Nishida, the psychology professor, Yamagami was motivated by Abe’s speech.
“Though I feel bitter, Abe is not my true enemy. He is only one of the Unification Church’s most influential sympathizers,”
“I’ve already lost the mental space to think about political meanings or the consequences Abe’s death will bring.” Yamagami wrote in a letter.
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