Suspect for Former Prime Minister Abe’s Shooting, Yamagami, Behavior and Mental Health

Instead of “thinking of reasons why you can’t”

It was a few minutes after the start of his speech when former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was pointing at the LDP candidate standing next to him as he spoke. A suspicious man approaches about 5 meters behind him.

Boom!

The man fired a shot from a hand-made gun about 40 cm long. When the man fired a second shot, Abe fell forward in an unprecedented shooting incident that took place in front of Yamato Saidaiji Station on the Kintetsu Railway line in Nara City, Nara Prefecture, just after 11:30 a.m. on July 8.

Mr. Abe was taken by helicopter to Nara Medical University Hospital, but at that time he was already in cardiopulmonary arrest. According to the hospital, Abe had two gunshot wounds in his neck, 5 cm apart. The bullets entered his chest, puncturing his heart and damaging his major blood vessels. The hospital had a 20-person team to treat him, but he was pronounced dead shortly after 5:00 p.m. due to massive blood loss.

What I learned during my three years of service in the Maritime Self-Defense Force

The suspect, Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, of Nara City, Nara Prefecture, whose occupation is unknown, was caught red-handed on suspicion of attempted murder of former Prime Minister Abe (the Nara Prefectural Police later switched the charge to murder). Yamakami graduated from a public preparatory school in Koriyama City, Nara Prefecture, in March 1999, and served in the Maritime Self-Defense Forces; he enlisted in August 2002 and served at the 1st Technical School in Etajima City, Hiroshima Prefecture, and elsewhere until August 2005.

During his term in the SDF, he apparently learned how to handle a gun. According to the Ministry of Defense, SDF officers are repeatedly taught how to disassemble and reassemble rifles, and once a year they also undergo live-fire training.

After retiring from the Self-Defense Forces, Yamagami became a certified financial planner and real estate transaction specialist. He registered with a temporary staffing agency in Osaka Prefecture and worked at a warehouse in Kyoto Prefecture, where he operated a forklift to transport goods. However, he is not satisfied with his workplace.

He was quiet and reserved. He rarely spent time with those around him and ate lunch alone in his car. In April of this year, he announced that he was ‘not feeling well,’ and resigned in mid-May after using up his paid vacation time.

A neighbor in her 20s said, “He rarely socialized with his neighbors.”

I don’t know what he does for a living. About two weeks ago, I saw your son (Yamagami) riding home on his bicycle for the first time in a long time.

According to sources, there are also reports that the family had joined a certain religious group. The suspect told police that he shot former Prime Minister Abe because he had a grudge against a certain group.

“I had a grudge against a particular group. He believed that Mr. Abe was connected to that group and committed the crime. It was not a grudge against his ideological beliefs.”

The police are now investigating the details of the incident and the motive behind the shooting.