UPDATE - Abe's Murderer Says Believed Ex-Japanese Prime Minister Belonged To Unknown Group

TOKYO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 09th July, 2022) Tetsuya Yamagami, who was detained for the murder of ex-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday, said he wanted to oppose an unknown group with which Abe was allegedly involved.

"My mother, being involved with this group, had made a significant donation, and our lives were ruined as a result," Japanese broadcaster NHK quoted Yamagami as saying.

The information about what kind of group it is was not disclosed.

Japanese news agency Kyodo cited sources familiar with the investigation as saying that Yamagami was initially planning to attack a leader of a religious organization.

The name of the organization and its leader were also not disclosed.

Abe, 67, was attacked on Friday morning in the Japanese city of Nara during his campaign speech. Yamagami, 41, approached the politician from behind and fired two shots from a distance of about 10 meters (33 feet) from a homemade gun. Police said Abe was conscious immediately after being wounded, but then, during transportation, his condition became critical "with cardiac and pulmonary arrest." Later in the day, Nara Medical University hospital pronounced him dead.