He July 8, 2022the society of Japan changed a little forever. A town in which weapons are not frequent and, logically, neither are shootings or the events that may arise from them, saw on the television screens how the face of a person who had led the country for almost a decade was by a man who had made one.
The name of the deceased victim was, who was prime minister of japan in 2006 and 2007 and between the end of 2012 until September 2020. The name of the shooter, in the middle of an electoral event at street level in the city of Nara, is who four years later, this Wednesday, has known the judgment for said crime, in the form of life sentence.
Following the request of the Prosecutor’s Office, the president of the Nara District Court (western Japan), Judge Shinichi Tanaka, has handed down a sentence against the 45-year-old defendant, who had already pleaded guilty in the early stages of the trial that began last October. But this process has served more than just to judge the author of an assassination, it represented a before and after regarding the measures taken against the one known as the Unification Churchalso called the ‘Moon sect’.
Finally, the request of the Yamagami legal defensewho argued that the sentence should not exceed 20 years in prison when taking into account the consequences and psychological damage caused by said sect, factors that led him to commit the murder.
Why did he assassinate the former prime minister and what does it have to do with the Unification Church?
From the beginning, Yamagami, who had been a military man having been in the ranks of the Maritime Self-Defense Forces, explained that he had shot Abe because of alleged links that the former prime minister would have with what is known as the Unification Church or ‘Moon sect’, a group founded in South Korea. Specifically, the murderer stated that this group had captured his mother subsequently leaving his family bankrupt.
Why then did he go to a rally to shoot a politician who was no longer active and was dedicated to the electoral muscle of the Liberal Democratic Party (PLD) who, days later? Probably because of the ease of committing the attack, but the reality is that during the investigation the authorities discovered that he had considered attacking other people the day before at a rally in an auditorium, behind closed doors.
During the process, different motives have been put on the table, but the main one is that Shinzo Abe was chosen for su abuelo, Nobuo Kishialso former Japanese president. There is theories that point to It was this who smoothed the landing of the ‘sect Moon’ in the land of the rising sun. The reality is that the case revealed links between this group and some leaders of the ruling PLD. But not only that, a kind of collective confession was formed by which numerous Japanese citizens dared to confess their story.
Stories emerged of families ruined by deposits of this Unification Church known for its mass weddings. Fathers and mothers extorted to make donations that led them to ruin or strong pressure to purchase luxury or high-priced objects. Former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, also from the same party, had to take forceful measures and ordered an investigation into the sect. After these investigations, it was decreed end of your tax advantages and a court ordered its dissolution in Japanalthough they continue to be active having judicially appealed.
What is the ‘Moon sect’ or Unification Church?
- It was founded in 1954 in South Korea, where it has come under increasing scrutiny for its donations to politicians.
- The group is known for its massive weddings.
- Among the points that the Japanese Government investigated are the ‘spiritual sales’ with which it supposedly coerces its members to buy objects at exorbitant prices.
- In Japan they have no tax advantages, but the court order for dissolution has not yet been executed.
