"Premeditated Attack"... Abe Shooter to Be Charged with Murder

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunju Lee] Japanese prosecutors will charge Tetsuya Yamagami, who assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, with murder.

According to the Yomiuri Shimbun on the 24th, the Nara District Public Prosecutors Office decided to indict Yamagami for murder by the 13th of next month, based on the results of a psychiatric evaluation that determined he has criminal responsibility. Criminal responsibility refers to a mental state in which a person can control themselves and be held legally accountable.

Previously, the Nara District Public Prosecutors Office conducted interviews with Yamagami to understand his upbringing and mental state at the time of the incident.

The Yomiuri reported, "No mental illness affecting the ability to distinguish right from wrong was recognized in Yamagami's psychiatric evaluation." It added, "The fact that he personally manufactured the homemade gun, investigated former Prime Minister Abe's schedule, and acted in a planned manner was the basis for the judgment that he is in a state to bear criminal responsibility."

Yamagami shot and killed former Prime Minister Abe while he was campaigning in Nara City, Japan, last July.