“It’s an extremely serious case, but someone has to defend him,” Furukawa said. “Naturally, he will have to take criminal responsibility for the serious consequences he caused by allegedly firing his gun to take away the life of a politician, and we are tasked with doing our best to reduce his punishment.”

Yamagami’s father, an executive of a company founded by the suspect’s grandfather, killed himself when Yamagami was four years old. After his mother joined the church, she began making large donations that bankrupted the family and shattered Yamagami’s hope of going to college. His brother later suicided. After a three-year stint in the navy, Yamagami was most recently a factory worker.

Some Japanese have expressed sympathy for Yamagami, especially those who also suffered as children of followers of the South Korea-based Unification Church, which is known for pressuring adherents into making big donations and is considered a cult in Japan.

Thousands of people have signed a petition requesting leniency for Yamagami, and others have sent care packages to his relatives or the detention centre.

The investigation into the case has led to revelations of years of cosy ties between Abe’s governing Liberal Democratic Party and the church since Abe’s grandfather, former prime minister Nobusuke Kishi, helped the church take root in Japan in the 1960s over shared interests in conservative and anti-communist causes.

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Current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s popularity has plunged over his handling of the church controversy and for insisting on holding a rare, controversial state funeral for Abe.

In a September 2021 video message, Abe praised the Unification Church’s work for peace on the Korean Peninsula and its focus on traditional family values.

AP