【Text by Observers Network, Liu Bai】
"What is your relationship with the defendant Yamamato?"
"My older brother has always been my favorite."
The sister's answer during the trial reveals the endless tragedy of a family destroyed by a cult.
Three years have passed, and the scene of Yamamato Tetsuya shooting former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo still shakes Japanese society.
On October 28, during the first day of the trial, the 45-year-old defendant sat quietly in the courtroom in Nara.
As the prosecutor read out the details of the case on July 8, 2022, he responded softly but clearly:
"It's all true. I did it."
The shocking image of Abe falling to the ground in broad daylight has deeply imprinted itself on public memory. Although most people condemned this political violence, many people expressed sympathy for the perpetrator and his motive after the attack, even petitioning for his reduced sentence.
This sentiment has not faded yet and may affect the upcoming final verdict.
Abe's funeral was held according to the Japanese state funeral standard. Yet, the gunman who killed him has become a "tragic hero" in the eyes of many.
As the trial progresses, the shattered life of Yamamato is being pieced together bit by bit...
On October 28, Japan, Nara District Court conducted the first public trial of the case of former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo's assassination. IC Photo
"A Disciple Wearing His Mother's Skin"
Yamamato Tetsuya's past, if told only from that gunshot, would seem too sudden.
He was born in 1980, and his whole family lived in an independent house in Osaka. Yamamato's father graduated from Kyoto University and worked as an engineer at a construction company, while his mother was the daughter of a factory owner, and their family had a solid and respectable background.
However, work pressure gradually overwhelmed his father.
Neighbors who knew the situation said that Yamamato's father was addicted to alcohol and often got drunk on the streets. Sometimes, his mother even had to kneel in the kitchen and endure her husband's yelling.
People once saw a scene: a young Yamamato hugged his mother's legs when she was abused.
When Yamamato was four, his father, who had long been drinking and suffered from depression, finally chose to end his life. At the same time, his mother was pregnant with Yamamato's younger sister.
The death of his father, along with Yamamato's older brother who had been sick since childhood, left his mother in great mental trauma. She tried to grasp anything that could give her "redemption."
The Unification Church appeared before her at that time.
In the trial, Yamamato's sister said that after her father died, she thought her mother would support the family, but reality was that her mother kept asking the children for money for the church, even ignoring their living needs.
"Even when I had a fever, she would leave me to go to the church. All she had in her mind was the Unification Church."
Once, her mother took her out under the pretense of tasting delicacies, but instead brought her to a Unification Church event, making her feel "betrayed."
According to Yamamato's uncle, around 1991, Yamamato's mother joined the church. Almost immediately after joining, she donated 20 million yen (about RMB 905,000).
Within less than a year, this mother became increasingly deep into the church, starting to donate her entire assets.
She sold two properties inherited from her elders in Nara City and donated large amounts of money to the Unification Church, including her husband's life insurance money, totaling over 100 million yen (about RMB 4.53 million).
After learning about her mother's intention to sell the property, even Yamamato's usually kind-hearted uncle was furious and warned Yamamato and his siblings to leave the home as soon as possible.
"He even said he would kill my mother and then commit suicide," Yamamato said.
One by one, the blood and flesh of a family were cut away, and the only sense of security in Yamamato's childhood was constantly taken away.
Yamamato's lawyer uncle once asked the Unification Church to return 50 million yen, but his mother gave the money to the church again.
The money was gone, and the family was almost lost.
In 2002, his mother was declared bankrupt by the Nara District Court.
Yamamato's sister recalled during the trial last week: "Before my mother went bankrupt, credit card companies kept sending me collection notices and calling me. My bank account balance also turned to zero. That was my saved New Year's money."
She also mentioned that when she told her mother she wanted to continue her education, she was refused outright: "We don't have any money, so you have to figure it out yourself."
Furthermore, after her mother invested all her savings into the church, she often asked her for money, saying that she couldn't pay rent and would be kicked out.
Once, her mother grabbed her arm tightly so she couldn't leave, and they dragged for twenty or thirty meters.
She still felt soft.
"My mother looked very desperate. I felt embarrassed, sad, and painful," she said, "Even though she didn't care about me, she spoke to me in a parent's tone. I felt she was no longer my mother, just a disciple of the Unification Church wearing her skin."
Quietly, only the sobbing of the sister echoed in the courtroom.
"But I couldn't refuse her... after all, she is my mother."
The Shattered First Half of Life
Poverty initially did not lead Yamamato Tetsuya down the wrong path.
In the trial, Yamamato recalled that during his junior high school years, he would spend hours wandering outside or sitting at the bus stop. Just like other children.
Tetsuya Yamamato, Visual China
When his younger sister was in first grade, she cried because her luggage was too heavy at the graduation ceremony, and Yamamato Tetsuya helped her carry it home.
Later, when his long-sick older brother had a fierce conflict with his mother, it was Yamamato Tetsuya who stopped the violence in front of his sister.
"I have always been proud of him," his sister said.
Yamamato performed well in high school. In his graduation album, he wrote down his dream with careful strokes: to become a rock singer.
After graduating from high school, Yamamato was admitted to the famous Josai University in Kyoto. However, he had to drop out due to tuition problems shortly after enrollment.
He wanted to become a firefighter, thinking that this job could help him cultivate perseverance in adversity.
"This job seems to best embody selfless service to others," Yamamato said during the cross-examination.
However, he failed to pass the firefighter recruitment exam.
In 2002, he applied to join the Maritime Self-Defense Force, hoping that there might be similar job opportunities there.
Factually, his uncle revealed that Yamamato chose the Maritime Self-Defense Force largely due to life's hardships.
Yet, fate once again hit him hard when he saw hope.
After Yamamato joined the Self-Defense Forces, his mother kept calling him for money, which led him to decide to block her.
Yamamato said that the closet in his home was filled with spiritual items sold by the church - Korean ginseng and expensive cookware.
In 2005, desperate, Yamamato attempted suicide, thinking that this way he could leave some insurance money for his sister and pay for his brother's medical expenses.
After failing to commit suicide, he was hospitalized in a psychiatric ward for about a month.
Yamamato once confided in his uncle: "My brothers and sister are in hardship, I want to end my life and leave the insurance money for them."
But he ultimately couldn't change his brother's fate.
In 2015, his brother, suffering from illness and family troubles, chose to commit suicide.
The night before the funeral, Yamamato stayed by his brother's body, crying and saying, "It's all my fault." "If you were alive, everything would have been better."
His sister recalls that in 2016, when she was living alone, her pet cat died, and Yamamato came to visit her.
That was the last time she saw Yamamato until the assassination case six years later.
Meanwhile, his mother continued to move between the church and the family, still asking for money and praying, as if completely unaware of the widening cracks in the family.
Yamamato Tetsuya's life was slowly crushed in such a family that kept collapsing.
Revenge
In the depths of despair, the seed of revenge quietly sprouted.
At first, his target was not any political figure, but the Unification Church itself.
According to Yamamato's statement, he initially planned to assassinate a high-ranking member of the Unification Church. In 2019, he carried a knife and a bottle of incendiary material, planning to assassinate the head of the Unification Church, Han Hye-jin, who was attending a gathering in Aichi Prefecture, but failed to enter the venue.
He later also planned to chase her to South Korea, but failed to do so due to current epidemic restrictions.
September 17, Seoul, South Korea, Han Hye-jin actively accepts investigation by Kim Geon-hee special committee. Visual China
However, the fire of revenge and anger burned more fiercely.
Until September 2021, a video gave him a new target.
In the video, Abe Shinzo was giving a speech for the Unification Church activities. Abe also publicly stated that his grandfather, Kishi Nobusuke, introduced the Unification Church to Japan, and his family maintained close ties with the church.
For Yamamato, this moment completed the deadly connection between personal hatred and historical roots.
Kishi Nobusuke, a Class-A war criminal of World War II, later became the Prime Minister of Japan. It was he who, under the banner of "anti-communism," formed an alliance with the Unification Church in the 1950s, creating a black hole composed of politicians, money, and religion, which has devoured countless believers like Yamamato's mother for decades.
Yamamato may have realized that he was not fighting against a cult, but a vast interest group behind it.
Abe pointed out where the fire should be directed.
Later, on the 25th, during the trial, Yamamato again mentioned that video.
In his view, even if Abe avoided supporting the Unification Church while in office, he still made such a video after stepping down, which was too easy to set a precedent for politics supporting religion. Once this situation continues, the Unification Church will gradually gain social recognition and be seen as an organization without problems. This is something victims find difficult to accept.
He was not a madman acting on impulse.
He once considered making a bomb, but feared harming innocent people; he also considered using knives, but due to inner resistance.
So, he turned to his small house and used a wrench and tape to make the homemade gun that changed Japan's history.
Before the incident, he not only repeatedly tested the weapon with materials like wooden boards to ensure its killing power, but also tracked Abe to the speech event in Okayama City on July 7, 2022, but temporarily abandoned the action due to tight security on site.
The next day, when he learned that Abe would go to Nara for activities, Yamamato put all the years he had been consumed into that decision...
"He is definitely a hero."
Two bullets shook the ghost that had been lurking in Japan for half a century. The fall of Abe brought the Unification Church back into the spotlight.
The arrested Yamamato Tetsuya after shooting. Visual China
Within a few months after the shooting, the extensive connections between the church and members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party were exposed, leading to the resignation of seven cabinet ministers.
In March of this year, the Tokyo District Court formally ruled to dissolve the religious corporation of the Unification Church.
Half a year later, the Nara District Court conducted the first public trial of the shooting case.
This case is expected to have 19 trials, ending on December 18, and the final judgment is scheduled for January 21, 2026.
Regarding the charges of murder and violation of the Gun and Sword Law, Yamamato confessed.
"It's all true. I did it."
"I think I shouldn't have lived this long," he paused, "causing so much trouble."
Last week, during the trial, when asked if he had ever thought of taking revenge on the Unification Church, Yamamato's sister remained silent for a moment.
"If I could take revenge, maybe I would do it."
When asked if she had ever had a chance to prevent the tragedy of her two brothers, the sister trembled as she told the court.
"I once sought consultation services for the situation of my parents joining (religious groups), but it didn't work. My mother is an adult, and she donated her personal assets based on her own will. As children, we were powerless."
"Tetsuya was in extreme despair and eventually committed the crime."
The tragedy of Yamamato touched the sympathy of some Japanese people.
Since being arrested by the police, many Japanese youths regard him as an "idol," and his social media followers have increased dramatically. Some die-hard fans have even jointly petitioned the government to send him daily necessities.
The "Legal Aid Association for Counteracting Fraudulent Business Practices" also announced its willingness to provide legal aid for Yamamato Tetsuya, stating that he is a victim of the cult.
To date, calls for reducing Yamamato's sentence continue.
In the defense's view, Yamamato Tetsuya should be given a lenient sentence. There are two main reasons: first, his homemade crude weapon does not meet the definition of a firearm under Japanese law, and second, his complex and tragic life experience.
The prosecution, based on the fact that Yamamato was over 40 at the time of the incident, believes he should understand the law and social norms. They focus on the cruelty and premeditated nature of this murder.
The tragedy of Yamamato has begun to reveal the jagged cracks in Japanese society.
July 8, 2025, the anniversary of the assassination of Abe. Visual China
The Economist once commented: the case of Yamamato Tetsuya reveals a social risk: when individuals fall into despair and helplessness, they may turn to violence.
Recently, "lone wolf" attacks have gradually become a new social threat in Japan. For example, in 2021, a man imitating the character from the movie "The Joker" attacked a train in Tokyo with a knife, injuring 17 people.
Coincidentally, this movie was also on Yamamato Tetsuya's list of movies to watch.
Such cases have already raised警戒 in the police. In April of this year, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department established a special department to deal with "lone wolf" attacks, which is a first in Japan.
However, the most alarming aspect of the entire case may lie in the fact that in this self-proclaimed peaceful country, the person receiving sympathy and compassion more is the shooter rather than Abe.
Sociologist Shigeru Uoya from Queen's University Belfast once compared Yamamato Tetsuya to Luigi Mangione in the United States.
In December 2024, Mangione, accused of killing the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, Brian Thompson, was portrayed as a "rebel hero" by some people.
The common point of these two cases is that the hatred of a minority towards the forces represented by the victims obviously outweighs the hatred for the act of murder itself.
Outside the court, an elderly woman in her seventies spoke up for Yamamato.
"Of course, we shouldn't condone terrorism, but there are reasons behind this incident."
A woman in her thirties spoke more directly. Her mother, like Yamamato's mother, had donated a large sum of money to the Unification Church.
"I know it's not appropriate to say this... but he (Tetsuya) is definitely my hero."
"This is the terrifying aspect of the collusion between politics and religion."
A family's tragedy has reached its conclusion witnessed by the whole nation.
In fact, Yamamato is neither a hero nor a madman, but an ordinary person pushed into the abyss by a cult.
He used the most extreme way to break the unspoken alliance between Japanese politics and religion, tearing open the political pus beneath the surface of Japanese society.
Japanese religious scholar and professor of Hokkaido University, Sakurai Yoshihisa, once commented that during World War II, the Japanese national power implemented forced control over religion, which led to the media's spontaneous formation of an "innocent religion" narrative after the war, long ignoring the possibility that religion could also become an aggressor.
It wasn't until the Aum Shinrikyo incident broke out that this narrative was forced to shift.
Aum Shinrikyo initially claimed to be a religion and spiritual practice, but gradually developed eschatological and violent tendencies.
In 1995, the Aum Shinrikyo released sarin gas in the Tokyo subway, one of the most severe terrorist attacks in modern Japanese history, resulting in approximately 13 deaths and over 6,000 injuries.
The incident shocked the entire country and once sounded the alarm for people about religion and public safety.
Still, the bell from thirty years ago failed to save every family misled by a cult.
Ultimately, the generational entanglements of political calculations and interest exchanges between the Abe family and the Unification Church were the deep root cause of Yamamato's family tragedy.
"I'm glad I attended the hearing. Some scattered topics are now integrated together," said Japanese religious scholar Shimozono Susumu on X, describing his feelings.
"In short, the evil degree of the Unification Church is unbelievable. Around this huge gear, other gears miraculously interlocked, ultimately leading to this incident."
"They described the suffering of second-generation believers (parents are Unification Church believers, and they grew up in the church). The mother also talked about her own mistakes. But is there really such a big difference? Only those who have been trampled can understand this pain."
"Finally, this mother said something that the media would never report. When asked about this incident, this mother said, 'I think some people were saved by this.' I hope this mother herself can also escape the cult and find redemption."
According to Japanese anti-cult and anti-Unification Church activist Tanaka Atsuhiko, the government endorsing religion is one of the reasons why the murderer committed the crime.
Tanaka is also a second-generation believer of the old Unification Church and is currently one of the most active representatives of "second-generation believers" in Japan.
"No matter what the reason, killing people is absolutely wrong," he said. "But the cause of this incident is not only second-generation believers, but also the government's approval of religion, which is the real reason that prompted the criminal to commit the crime."
"I think this precisely reflects the terrifying aspect of the collusion between politics and religion. Once politics and religion are intertwined, it leads to people who have nowhere to turn."
And Yamamato Tetsuya is merely one of the names of those who have nowhere to turn and have been heard by the world first.
(Intern Li Qi also contributed to this article.)
Original text: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7576962875340685843/
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