Free Republic

TOKYO - The Unification Church in Japan on Monday (July 11) said the mother of the gunman who last week assassinated former prime minister Shinzo Abe was a member of the church. The gunman, Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, has told police following the assassination that he targeted Mr Abe in his belief that the former PM was linked to a "religious group" that his mother had joined, paying exorbitant dues that left his family bankrupt and broken. In a news conference on Monday, Reverend Tomihiro Tanaka - who leads the Japan branch of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification,...

A gunman at an election rally in Nara ended the life of the longest-serving and one of the most popular prime ministers in Japanese history. On July 8, just before 6 PM, it was reported that former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had died, according to multiple sources and local media. Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Is Shot During a RallyThis is how the day unfolded.Very detailed account follows at the link>

Japanese police officials have identified Tetsuya Yamagami, a resident of Japan’s Nara city in his 40s, as the person who attacked Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe. Yamagami attacked Abe with a shotgun while he was delivering a speech near the Yamato-Saidaiji Station in Nara City. Abe fell to the ground and was bleeding from the chest as per photos shared by Japanese news agencies. Abe was campaigning for the upcoming Upper House elections. Yamagami was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and was brought to Nara Nishi police station. The police also confiscated the gun and the confiscated gun...

Former Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo collapsed in the western city of Nara at around 11: 30 a.m. Abe was making a speech on the street. An NHK reporter says Abe was bleeding. The reporter heard what sounded like a gun going off. Former Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo collapsed during a speech in the city of Nara, in western Japan. Initial reports say he may have been injured. An NHK reporter on site heard something that sounded like a gunshot, and saw Abe bleeding.