The man accused of assassinating former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is scheduled for a mental evaluation to determine his state of mind when he fatally shot the former official, the Japan Times reported Saturday.
According to the Times, Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, was approved for a psychiatric evaluation by the Nara District Court and will be sent to a medical institution until Nov. 29.
Yamagami used a homemade gun to shoot Abe during a Liberal Democratic Party campaign speech in front of Kintetsu Railway’s Yamato-Saidaiji Station in Nara July 8, because he believed the popular politician was associated with the Unification Church, which he had a grudge against.
Abe, 67, was the longest serving prime minister from 2006-07, and again from 2012-2020 when he stepped down for health reasons.
The Times also reported Friday that a state funeral will be held for Abe at Tokyo’s Nippon Budokan on Sept. 27.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsumo told the news outlet that the funeral will be fully funded by the Japanese government and will be “secular and simple.”
According to the article, while Abe was popular, and leaders from around the world praised him following the assassination, the Social Democratic opposition party is criticizing the event.
“It clearly violates freedom of thought and conscience protected under the constitution,” the Times reported Mizuho Fukushima, leader of the party, saying at a protest rally outside the prime minister’s office that drew several hundred people.
A funeral for former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone in 2020 cost the government an estimated $698,000, which covered just half of the bill, according to the Times.
The United States Senate passed a resolution by unanimous consent July 20 remembering Abe “and his work to strengthen the alliance between the United States and Japan; and extends condolences to the family of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the people of Japan.”
“I am stunned, outraged, and deeply saddened by the news that my friend Abe Shinzo, former Prime Minister of Japan, was shot and killed while campaigning,” U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement following the assassination. “This is a tragedy for Japan and for all who knew him.
"I had the privilege to work closely with Prime Minister Abe. As Vice President, I visited him in Tokyo and welcomed him to Washington. He was a champion of the Alliance between our nations and the friendship between our people.”
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