Moonies motive ?

Shinzo Abe shooting: who are the ‘Moonies’ and why are they in the spotlight?
Suspect Tetsuya Yamagami blames the Unification church, also known as the Moonies, for bankrupting his family
Justin McCurry in Tokyo
Tue 12 Jul 2022 05.43 BST
Last modified on Tue 12 Jul 2022 06.40 BST

The apparent motive given by the man accused of assassinating Shinzo Abe has cast a spotlight on the Unification church and its ties to politicians.

Tetsuya Yamagami has confessed to killing the former Japanese prime minister during a campaign speech on Friday. He blamed the global religious movement – whose members are often referred to as Moonies – for bankrupting his family, and believed that Abe had championed its activities in Japan.

The Japan branch of the church has confirmed that Yamagami’s mother is a member, but declined to comment on the suspect’s claims that she had made a “huge donation” more than 20 years ago that left the family struggling financially.

The branch’s president, Tomihiro Tanaka, told a press conference that Yamagami’s mother became a follower in the late 1990s, adding that the family had suffered financial ruin around 2002.

The organisation’s official name is the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, although it is better known as the Unification church. It was founded in South Korea in 1954 by Sun Myung Moon, whose strident anti-communism would lead him to build ties with conservative politicians around the world, including in Japan.

Moon, who died in 2012, said he had had a vision aged 15 in which he was told by Jesus to complete his unfulfilled mission to restore humanity to a state of “sinless” purity.

Often described as a cult motivated by financial gain, the church became known for conducting mass weddings in huge sports stadiums – involving thousands of couples who were meeting for the first time – and at one time claimed to have about 3 million followers worldwide.

Its connection to Japan is inseparable from the instability of the postwar years, when conservative politicians sought to build alliances that they believed would prevent the country from embracing communism.

They included Abe’s grandfather, Nobusuke Kishi, who reportedly set up an organisation with ties to the church. It was Kishi’s decision to court Moon and his followers in Japan that reportedly drove Yamagami to target his grandson.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/ ... oliticians

State funeral for ex-PM Abe staged amid strong public opposition
KYODO NEWS By Satoshi Iizuka, KYODO NEWS - 6 hours ago - 18:30 | All, Japan
A state funeral for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was held in Tokyo on Tuesday despite strong opposition to the controversial ceremony for the country's longest-serving leader, with more than 4,000 mourners attending the rare event amid tight security.

Ahead of the state-funded event, the first of its kind for a former premier in 55 years, calls for its cancellation had grown. Critics say it lacks a legal basis, citing Abe's complicated political legacy for their opposition.

Abe built his profile overseas by emphasizing foreign and security policy while forging personal ties with world leaders such as former U.S. President Donald Trump. At home, however, opinion on his legacy is divided based on allegations he abused his power for personal gain.

The state funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is held at the Nippon Budokan hall in Tokyo on Sept. 27, 2022. Abe was fatally shot during upper house election campaigning in Nara, western Japan, in July. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

During the postwar period, Japan had only hosted a state funeral for a former premier once. The honor was given in 1967 to former Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida, who led the country's recovery from World War II.

A private funeral for Abe was held four days after he was fatally shot during an election campaign speech on July 8 in the western city of Nara by a lone gunman. His remains were cremated.

The National Police Agency has mobilized up to 20,000 officers to enforce strict security in the capital, particularly around the Nippon Budokan hall where the ceremony was held.

At a park near the venue, meanwhile, large numbers of people gathered to lay flowers from early in the morning.

Opponents of the funeral have repeatedly held rallies in front of the prime minister's office, parliament building and elsewhere and filed lawsuits demanding that the event be scrapped.
Earlier this month, a man set himself on fire on a street near the prime minister's office, police said, apparently intending to commit suicide in protest against the planned state funeral.

The funeral is set to cost taxpayers more than 1.6 billion yen ($11 million).
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2022 ... ition.html

From the official Cambodian press agency, AKP:

Cambodian PM Joins Other World Leaders in H.E. ABE Shinzo’s State Funeral
Phnom Penh, September 27, 2022 --

Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo HE, Prime Minister of Japan, attended in Tokyo this afternoon the State Funeral of former Prime Minister of Japan H.E. ABE Shinzo.

Some 4,500 people, including about 50 current and former world leaders and around 700 international guests, joined the event of great sorrow.

Late Prime Minister ABE Shinzo was a long-time good friend of Samdech Techo Prime Minister and Cambodia.
- AKP