crime

Shooter signaled Abe killing in letter to Unification Church critic

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In the letter, Yamagami said he "felt bitter" toward Abe, who he described as "one of the most influential sympathizers of the Unification Church in the real world," but that the former leader "was not his original enemy."

Japanese as well as American leaders are complicit in allowing religions like this to maintain a tax exempt status, amass great amounts of wealth and capital, and build malign influence.

If all religions lost their tax exempt status the gains to societies would be immense.

38 ( +42 / -4 )

Japan is really justifying the muderers actions by pinning it on the church and South Korea.

-26 ( +5 / -31 )

If all religions lost their tax exempt status the gains to societies would be immense.

I want them to keep exempt status BUT they have to be banned to run any business (school, newspaper, shop..), and be forced to give authorities all their accounts in real time.

Then, they should be made to publish regularly anonymized lists with all donations, others sources of income, all charity projects, all lobbying/campaigning expenses, all legal expenses (trials for pedo priests , money extortion, harrassment, illegal 'medecine'...), how much money leaving the country and going where... for everybody to see and particularly followers.

Well, there is already part of that requirement, dependings on countries. It has to be more precise and enforced.

4 ( +13 / -9 )

The man charged with murdering Shinzo Abe sent a letter to a critic of the Unification Church signaling his intention to kill the former prime minister prior to the shooting earlier this month, the recipient said Sunday

Did the recipient of the letter notified the police about the intentions of the criminal to kill Abe? The article says the police is aware of the letter now, but if it was also aware before the crime it would be a clear example of not taking the threats seriously.

12 ( +17 / -5 )

STILL NOT CONVINCE HE ACTED ALONE

°

The shared information is interesting. The profile is classic. Most letters who announced an intent to kill are left dead - without consequences or real live action. But, there is still not enough on the rage level of this killer.

To be simple, his choice of weapon indicate intellectual capacities. Those capacities should have prepared an escape route, and not kamikaze choice. Those capacities would have allow him access to real weapon thru sport training - even more with a SDF past.

He had the raw material to create a bomb. And when you have a church fanatic - or ex victim - mass killing is the weapon of choice. The killer was raised in the sect Moon environment and values. He should have the religious zealot profile and not the terrorist profile.

I am still feeling the print of a Leon mercenary on this case. The shooter profile made him perfect for political killing manipulation. The police have yet to answer to the question "Why now ?". He had other homemade guns. He had raw bomb material. The police is not used to this kind of murder and will not be able to investigate beyond the obvious. We have no other violence incident with sect Moon - for now, the youngest Moon's son install himself in Wako (USA) but he cut ties with the Moon sect. Globally, the police have yet to solve this murder up to my standard.

°

NadAge

-20 ( +2 / -22 )

it would be a clear example of not taking the threats seriously.

A clear but common example of incompetence.

2 ( +6 / -4 )

Did he send letters about others? I saw a list this morning of members of this cult. It includes Suga, Maihara, Noda, Aso, and many more. I can send a link, but it is Japanese…

4 ( +8 / -4 )

Any affiliation of an elected representative should be legally required to be published at the time of that affiliation and annually there after including past affiliations. If they are your representative then you have a right to know who and what you are voting for.

Coskuri, why not have all that you wish for and they pay tax? I can not see a valid justification why their income should be exempt from tax any more than yours is or any other organisation.

10 ( +13 / -3 )

This whole tragedy demands a full open judge led public enquiry.

Most importantly the relationship to democratic elected government, the selection procedure for political office and the toxic involvement of religious fundamentalism/cults, extreme political lobby groups, sects to governance of Japan political system.

All politicians, and members of these group must be legally compelled to give evidence in front of a Judge/court.

If deemed necessary evidence must be gathered through police assistance.

13 ( +14 / -1 )

Come on then!

Just how many of the LDP are affiliated with the Unification Church?

Are you going to come out and admit to your affiliation or just hide in the shadows?

4 ( +9 / -5 )

shame on Japanese media - this conversation is focused on the domestic terrorist narrative, not the victims which are Shinzo Abe and the people of Japan.

So he created zip guns and bombs to make his mother proud? He did all of this 20 years later because of money that was not his and actions taken for something that did not happen to him personally?

Looks like people want to use this tragedy to attack an institution instead of coming to grips that domestic terrorist by lone wolf actor is now a clear and present danger in Japan.

-18 ( +2 / -20 )

I'd also be wary of Falun Gong too, as well as the Moonies. They've got their tentacles everywhere, especially in the media and businesses everywhere. And their leader is just as rich as the Moonies' past and present leaders. I wonder whether Scientology is popular in Japan too.

8 ( +10 / -2 )

One has to force these cults and extremist political groups into the full glare of publicity.

Out of the shadows into the cold light of day.

Into a court inquiry with the Judiciary given the full support to search and seize evidence.

The political will must exist to achieve this.

8 ( +9 / -1 )

Understandable that his family was bankrupt because of the donations to the church, but ending anyone's life is NOT the proper way to go about it,

I am hoping that this case not only punishes the shooter, but also thake a close look and investigate his claims towards the so called "Church"

3 ( +5 / -2 )

The culprit here is the shooter. Completely. No exceptions. People are free to donate or not. It is the shooter's own sense of guilt and whatever other wackiness is going on in his head that did this.

Civil society is based on making arguments. As long as you can freely make your argument, violence is the tool of the ignorant such as this petulant man-boy. He tried to alleviate his strong emotions, exacerbated by his own intellectual impotence, with violence.

To spend any time looking at whatever church or ineptitude of security detail is not improper but not as a possible explanation for this coward's actions or outcome.

-13 ( +1 / -14 )

In the wake of a terrible event, there is often the strong urge to “make sense” of it by seeking someone to blame…Those who loathe religion (as they think they understand it) are now out in force. Well, let us imagine that the suspect’s mother had lost a lot of money investing in a dishonest convenience store chain, with supposed ties to the LDP. Would anyone now be calling for outlawing all convenience stores?

-9 ( +0 / -9 )

No way will there be any official meaningful deep inquiry into the murky relationship between the LDP and Unification church.

Just like how the illegal land sale resultng in the suicide of the government clerk who was forced to cover up the evidence was just swept under the rug.

This country is signed and sealed by the LDP and their star spangled benefactor.

11 ( +13 / -2 )

The loony domestic terrorist has ZERO CLAIMS of grievance towards the Unification Church - this was his mother's issue. He was 21 years old, an adult when this happened. He lived a whole life from 21 to 41 years - 20 years of adulthood to get his own life together.

How many elderly in Japan fall to financial scams? Why does this terrorist who created bombs and homemade firearms get a voice from Japanese media to deflect from his actions and allow him to give an excuse/explanation for this extreme act of violence?

-12 ( +1 / -13 )

The candid confessions of Yamakami may become crucial in the trial. He has reasons to hate Abe. He himself was tormented by his family financial situation due that Korean church.

That Abe and perhaps many Japanese politicians are associated with a Korean church when Japan and Korea are at loggerheads, is a shock.

Yamakami's lawyer will point to the security lapses. Abe would have been alive if the security was alert. Yamakami exploited the security loop-hole. That he managed to kill Abe was his success. However, Abe could have been saved if the security was adequate.

I do not expect a death penalty or even a life sentence. It was not a wanton crime. It was borne out of long hatred no matter what it was rational or not. That the Police failed is a big factor..it would not have become a murder if the Police has done their job.

Will the Chief of Police or the security supervisor on site be charged for negligence too?

3 ( +6 / -3 )

Guys, you can't blame the business of religion, they are just trying to make a living.

-9 ( +1 / -10 )

The shooter hated a cult that brought the downfall of his mother financially. He lived his life from 21 to 41 years and could have moved on, got a job, earn money and build a future for himself. Apparently he worked briefly and on and off in various jobs. The anguish he felt towards the cult clearly hindered him from moving on with his life. Instead he resorted to continual hatred to the religious group. This turned into a grudge and he focused his efforts to plot an assassination. Originally it was a leader of this church but that proved too difficult so went for Abe and he thought he had a connection to the group. Let me end by saying the security on that tragic day for Mr Abe was a big failure.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

I note the consiparacy theory wack jobs have already jumped on the thread.

Japanese as well as American leaders are complicit in allowing religions like this to... 

It's a cult not a religion... wat a minute... sorry... yes... cult / religion... totally same thing.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

For all those saying the shooter had plenty of time to move on with his life... well that might have been true if he came from a functional family and had some support system around. It's a lot easier to be a good citizen if you come from a good environment and loving family. Here however, according to the media reports, the shooter father committed suicide when he was a kid followed by his brother sharing the same fate some years later. Mother neglected the kids going for months to South Korea. In a country where everyone minds their own business and is reluctant to help even a neighbor it might be really hard to get out of this negative mind bubble people find themselves in and stay alone for years. It spirals deeper and deeper and later it's just too late. Not excusing the shooter, he should and will be punished. Abe didn't deserve to die. But life is not black and white and to be honest I feel this is a big tragedy for all humans involved. Btw, yes, this cult group and its ties to politicians are sickening.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Yamagami fills the role of the canary in the Japanese cage perfectly. Although Japan is politically very conservative (right-wing), unlike the cowardly omerta of the US media and, to some extent the English understatement of the UK's MSM, Japanese TV and media surprisingly allow opinions from sociologists and psychologists to explain Yamagami as a symptom of Japan's ongoing descent into a disfunctional society with worsening inequality, an overworked, underpaid and over-taxed, alienated workforce seething with discontent and suffering in silence, yet who clear-eyed can see through the unfairness of the economic system and the rigged political games propped up by corruption and cronyism on a gargantuan scale. There's no denying the reality: there are many more Yamagamis out there, waiting...

3 ( +7 / -4 )

How many years that moron will pay or will he be sended to gallows???...

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

It's more evidence to validate the incompetence of Abe's security team and the watchdog for terrorism.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

@Don

Out of curiosity - what makes you think the shooter was a coward ?

1 ( +2 / -1 )

And why was this letter not reported to the Police at that time ?

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

And why was this letter not reported to the Police at that time ?

The article does not say that it was not.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Well, in fact he announced it beforehand, went to several similar events and places beforehand, made loud and visible test shootings, also stood for minutes right behind the victim waiting his bag to be checked and himself to be finally stopped. Nothing happened, even SP turning away and looking in all but not his direction, that’s why he must have thought in his mind’s condition and full of long term hatred , that he is unoutspoken given an ok and green light to pull the trigger.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

I have to hold hands with Nadège, above, as we jump off the end of the dock into the shallow waters of this comment space and suggest that, perhaps, given what has apparently been explored in Mr. Yamagami's unstable internal milieu, the tenuousness of Mr. Abe's actual connection to the purported motive, and not a few other such similar 'patsy' operations around the world particularly by the FBI in America, that the possibility that this assassination was a 'third-hand' straight up political assassination CANNOT be discounted. Yeah, I know, "CONSPIRACY THEORY", the poor man's propaganda 'STOP THINKING NOW!' phrase. But these techniques exist, as do independently unhinged people, and cannot be just dismissed especially when the ramifications have a much broader political damage profile than just 'some nutjob'. Nutjob's are already halfway 'conditioned' and only need a little 'guidance' from skilled, always anonymous, psychopaths to become the perfect tools for operations such as these. Gavrilo Princip, if you know the history, was likely one of these way back in 1914 and the techniques have only gotten better and more subtle. When large political events happen, they rarely happen by happenstance and the ugly hand of power and control, well schooled in steering us herds of 'koko-wa-doko?' dullards into disastrous mindsets by thousands of years of practice, can usually be found somewhere in the background unless curiosity is killed by tools such as 'conspiracy theory'.

-5 ( +1 / -6 )

I vaguely remember many years ago in the 1970's) a furor in my native country regarding cults (although I cannot remember specifically if it was the Unification Church). A woman on TV said her son had joined what she considered was a cult and had been "forced" to marry and hand over his money. She said that the cult was trying to break her family apart. Soon after, a TV play was made about a teenage girl who joined a cult, (no specific name mentioned) but left and was "deprogrammed". Wish that I could remember the title. I know that the Unification Church has been scrutinised in my native country, but their does not seem to be any evidence of any wrong doing.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

So, the police were aware that this guy, or at least some guy, who had guns, was looking to kill Abe? It will be very interesting to find out how much they knew exactly, and how long before the shooting they knew. On the face of it, incompetency of an unrivalled magnitude does come to mind.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

This cult should also be in the court... Without them, none of this would have happened. The judge should take this into account when sentencing the shooter.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

@N.Knight

Cult /religion...totally same thing

Not to rain on your anti religion parade- but however not all religions are cults or the occult , - meaning not all religions have a hidden agenda or secret knowledge.

Cant generalize like that without announced ignorance.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Related to Lola’s post above, not only his inheritance, but also his mother’s love was taken from him by the church.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

The culprit here is the shooter. Completely. No exceptions. People are free to donate or not. It is the shooter's own sense of guilt and whatever other wackiness is going on in his head that did this.

The shooter's future was destroyed by the hard sell tactics of a cynical Ponzi scheme which (it very much appears) accrued zero material benefits to its members.

In a country with insanely strict regulations for non-profit organisations, the leniency with which this known corporate abuser was treated under Abe, is nothing short of obscene.

Did he deserve to die for it? Hell no.

I hope we at least get a freer press as a result of this crime.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

This cult should also be in the court...

An exceedingly good suggestion, Mr. Kipling.

Abe's legacy will be the action J Gov takes on UC.

Don't hold your breath.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

And why was this letter not reported to the Police at that time ?

The letter was posted in Okayama the day before Abe was shot and probably reached the person

it was addressed to after the shooting I am sure the person immediately contacted the police but the

police released the info to the media recently.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The more I hear about Mr. Yamagami's past, the more I feel sorry for him. Having your father commit suicide when you're young, and then the mother always running off to Unification church gatherings and wasting all of your family's earnings while neglecting their family can make anyone go crazy. I place all of the fault on the church and the mother. Neglecting your own children is a horrible crime and should be punished.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

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