Photo/Illutration Tetsuya Yamagami, who is suspected of killing former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, is taken from the Nara-Nishi Police Station in Nara on July 10. (Shiro Nishihata)

Tetsuya Yamagami apparently blamed a religious group for his life of hardships that culminated in the shooting death of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a relative of the suspect said.

The relative, a man in his 70s who lives in Osaka Prefecture, told The Asahi Shimbun that Yamagami “has gone through hard times ever since he was a child over a religious group that his mother joined.”

Yamagami, 41, of Nara was initially arrested on suspicion of attempted murder on July 8. After Abe’s death was confirmed later that day, Yamagami was sent to the Nara Public Prosecutors Office on July 10 on suspicion of murder.

According to sources, Yamagami told investigators he targeted Abe because he thought the former prime minister was connected to the religious group.

Yamagami lived at a home in Nara with his parents, an older brother and a younger sister.

His father ran a construction company but died during Yamagami’s childhood.

The mother took over the company, but she became committed to religious activities and donated large amounts of money to the group.

The relative said the mother may have been looking for answers in life through the religious organization.

“She was a widow, and I suppose she felt insecure about the family’s future,” he said.

The relative said he soon started receiving phone calls from the three children, who said, “We don’t have anything to eat at home.”

The man gave money to the children to cover their living expenses, and he sometimes delivered food to them.

Yamagami entered a Nara prefectural high school that was considered “elite” because a high proportion of its graduates were accepted at high-ranking universities.

After graduation, Yamagami entered a technical school.

He joined the Maritime Self-Defense Force in 2002, the year his mother was declared bankrupt by the Nara District Court, according to investigative sources.

The relative said he thinks Yamagami decided to become an MSDF member “because he had trouble making a living.”

The relative said he last saw Yamagami around 2005.

The construction company run by the mother was dissolved in 2009.

After Yamagami’s arrest, he was quoted as telling investigators: “I couldn’t forgive (the group) because my mother continued to pay money to it even after she underwent bankruptcy.”

When asked about the religious group mentioned by Yamagami, the relative said: “I bet he has held a grudge the whole time. I think he feels that his life was changed by (the group).”

Sources also quoted Yamagami as saying: “I tried to target the head of the religious group, but it was difficult. I thought Abe had a connection to the group.”

For about a year and a half until May this year, Yamagami was registered at a temporary staffing company in Osaka Prefecture and worked at a factory in Kyoto Prefecture.

The head of the factory told reporters in Nara on July 9 that Yamagami operated forklifts.

He said Yamagami was initially “low-key.”

After about half a year on the job, Yamagami started to ignore rules about operating procedures, the factory chief said.

In March this year, Yamagami got into an argument with a colleague who told him to follow the rules.

After that quarrel, Yamagami began skipping work, sometime citing “heart trouble,” the chief said.

Through the temporary staffing agency, Yamagami informed the factory in April that he intended to quit the job.

(This article was written by Hajimu Takeda and Eriko Kai.)

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