Mother of Abe Shooter Yamagami Apologizes in Court

Nara, Nov. 13 (Jiji Press)–The mother of Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, who is charged with the 2022 murder of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Nara, western Japan, apologized for the crime committed by her second son as she appeared in court as a defense witness. “I sincerely apologize from the bottom of my heart for the terrible crime committed by my second son, Tetsuya,” said the mother, a follower of the Unification Church, at the beginning of her testimony at the seventh hearing of his lay-judge trial at Nara District Court. Regarding her reason for making donations totaling more than 100 million yen to the controversial religious group, she said, “I thought it would save my elder son’s life.” According to the defense, the defendant has refused to meet with his mother, making this their first encounter since he fatally shot Abe with a homemade gun. A shield board was placed between the mother and the spectators, making it impossible to see her facial expression. According to her testimony, the mother joined the group in August 1991. She was persuaded by a follower who said, “You should look at your family tree.” When she visited a facility of the group, she was told that repeated misfortunes, such as her husband’s suicide and the serious illness of the defendant’s elder brother, were due to “humanity’s corruption making God’s salvation ineffective.” She also testified that she was told “a purification offering of 20 million yen was necessary.” At the end of that month, she made a donation using the proceeds from her husband’s life insurance payout. In March 1992, she made an additional donation of 30 million yen. “I didn’t know what would happen to my elder son’s life, and I thought paying 50 million yen would save him,” she said in court. Later, upon hearing that “since he (the husband) committed suicide, his afterlife is painful,” she was prompted to donate 10 million yen as an offering for her husband’s soul. After her father, who was living with her, died, she sold the house they lived in for 40 million yen and used the proceeds for donations. At the time, the defendant was 18 and due to enter university, but her elder son had hinted at suicide. “There seemed no point in him going to university, so I thought donating money (for my elder son) was more important,” the mother testified. Yamagami has explained during investigations that he held a strong grudge against the Unification Church since his mother’s faith in it destroyed his family. Attention is focused on the severity of the sentence Yamagami can expect. The defense has claimed that the influence of the group on Yamagami “constituted religious abuse,” while public prosecutors have argued that the crime was extremely grave regardless. The defendant’s sister, a lawyer specializing in the religious group and a scholar of religion plan to attend upcoming hearings as witnesses. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]