Agence France-Presse
A Japanese court was evacuated when a suspicious object was found Monday ahead of a hearing for the man accused of killing former prime minister Shinzo Abe, local reports said.
Tetsuya Yamagami was due to appear at the Nara District Court on Monday afternoon for his first pre-trial hearing over Abe’s broad-daylight assassination which shocked the world in July last year.
But the site was evacuated after what appeared to be an “unidentified bag” was delivered to the court, public broadcaster NHK said, citing investigative sources. Similar reports were carried by other Japanese media outlets.
The court and local police were not immediately able to comment when contacted by AFP.
Yamagami, 42, faces charges of murder and violation of arms control laws, and could face the death penalty if convicted.
He reportedly targeted Abe over the former leader’s ties to the Unification Church, the global sect whose members are sometimes referred to as “Moonies”.
Yamagami is believed to have resented the church over large donations his mother made that bankrupted his family.
Abe, Japan’s best known politician and longest-serving prime minister, was shot with an apparently homemade gun while speaking at a campaign event on July 8.
The circumstances of the assassination have ignited scrutiny of what authorities admitted were security “shortcomings”, and led to the resignation of Japan’s police chief.
–ag
