The lay judge trial for Yamagami Tetsuya for the murder of former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo continued on November 25 at the Nara District Court in southwestern Japan.

The prosecution continued their examination of the defendant, with detailed questioning concerning the homemade firearm constructed by Yamagami.

Yamagami paused after each question, answering each one calmly.

The defendant stands accused of shooting and killing Abe with a homemade pipe gun during a campaign rally in Nara City three years ago. 

A key point of contention in the trial is the influence exerted by his mother's substantial donations to the former Unification Church.

During cross-examination on the 25th, Yamagami initially revealed that he had planned to shoot the head of the former Unification Church Hak Ja Han Moon.

Regarding Abe's video message to an affiliated organization of the group, Yamagami said he felt the former Unification Church was increasingly being viewed as socially accepted and even harmless. 

From the perspective of those who suffered harm, Yamagami felt it was deeply frustrating, and even felt a sense of despair and crisis.

For him, it was less anger and more a feeling of being troubled.

When questioned by the prosecution about which executive he had targeted, Yamagami said that it could have been any executive besides leader Hak Ja Han Moon.

He also revealed that he had initially attempted to attack Moon, who had come to Japan, using petrol bombs and other means, but had failed. 

He further disclosed that he had sought to purchase a gun known as the Kuroboshi, originating from the former Soviet Union.

Yamagami said of his plans, “To create distance from the target and lower psychological resistance, I considered what I could make myself. Molotov cocktails came to mind, but these would cause widespread damage. I needed something that would reliably eliminate the target without causing extensive harm.”

He added that he concluded a firearm would be best.

The defendant explained that he was ultimately unable to purchase a firearm and instead began researching how to make one online.

During the hearing on November 25, the question as to why the defendant ultimately proceeded with the shooting of Abe was not raised. 

Three further examinations of the defendant are scheduled for next week and beyond.