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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Justin McCurry in Tokyo

Revelations since Shinzo Abe death shed light on Moonies’ influence

Flags outside a branch of the Unification church in Seoul, South Korea
Flags outside a branch of the Unification church in Seoul. The church was founded in South Korea in 1954. Photograph: Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images

Japan was still struggling to make sense of the violent death of Shinzo Abe when the man suspected of killing him gave police information that has sent shockwaves through the country’s political establishment.

Tetsuya Yamagami said he shot Abe because of the former primer minister’s links to the Unification church, also known as the Moonies, which he blamed for bankrupting his family. Yamagami’s mother, a longtime member of the church, reportedly gave it ¥100m [£618,000] in donations two decades ago, plunging their family into poverty.

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