Suspect charged in Abe assassination

TOKYO — Japanese prosecutors formally charged the suspect in the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with murder, sending him to stand trial, a court said Friday.

Tetsuya Yamagami was arrested immediately after Abe was shot with a homemade gun as the former leader was making a campaign speech in July outside a train station in Nara in western Japan. Yamagami then underwent a nearly six-month mental evaluation, which prosecutors said showed he is fit to stand trial.

Yamagami was also charged with violating a gun control law, according to the Nara District Court.

Police have said Yamagami told them that he killed Abe, one of Japan’s most influential and divisive politicians, because of Abe’s apparent links to a religious group that he hated.

One of his lawyers, Masaaki Furukawa, told The Associated Press Thursday that Yamagami will have to take responsibility for the serious consequences of his alleged actions and his defense lawyers will do their best to reduce his sentence.

No date is set for the trial, which is expected to have a panel of civil jurors in addition to the usual bench judges, as is typical in murder cases and other serious criminal trials in Japan. There are no pretrial hearings in Japan and defendants generally undergo trials.

Because of the complexity of the case, it will take months before his trial begins, Furukawa said.

Police are also reportedly considering adding several other allegations, including producing weapons, violating the explosives control law and causing damage to buildings.