Shinzo Abe murder suspect submitted for psychiatric examination

The Nara District Court on Friday approved a request by prosecutors for Tetsuya Yamagami to undergo a psychiatric examination which is expected to last until the end of November, the Asahi Shimbun daily and other local media reported on Saturday, citing sources close to the court. investigation.

The questioning of the suspect will be interrupted during this period, the media said. In Japan, a suspect can be taken into custody and questioned by the police for up to 23 days without being formally charged.

The suspect, Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, was arrested just after shooting twice, using a self-made weapon, at Shinzo Abe in the middle of an election rally before the senatorial elections in Nara, in the west of the Japan.

According to police, he said he killed Shinzo Abe because he believed the former prime minister had ties to “a certain organization”, which Japanese media identified as the Unification Church, or ” Moon sect”. The suspect’s mother was a member of this religious organization.

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