Photo/Illutration Investigators remove items seized from the home of Tetsuya Yamagami in Nara on July 16. (Rikako Takai)

The accused killer of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe initially considered building a pressure cooker bomb but switched to making guns at home because it was easier to pinpoint a target, sources said.

Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, told investigators he purchased a pressure cooker for the task but then realized it could maim or kill innocent bystanders when it exploded. 

He decided he could accomplish his goal by making a gun, investigative sources said. He ended up making several weapons.

Yamagami, an unemployed resident of Nara city, was captured moments after he fatally shot Abe on July 8 while the veteran politician was giving a campaign speech in Nara.

Yamagami’s case is now with prosecutors.

Results of the autopsy showed two gunshot wounds to Abe’s upper left arm and neck.

Bullet holes were found in the wall of a parking lot building about 90 meters away.

Yamagami told the Nara prefectural police that he harbored a grudge against the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, formerly known as the Unification Church, because his mother donated a large sum of money to the group.

He wanted to attack the South Korea-based head of the organization, but found it difficult to do so after pandemic-related travel restrictions imposed in 2020 made another visit to Japan by the leader unlikely. He said he shot Abe instead, believing the politician had links to the group, the sources said.

In October 2019, the organization’s “friendship group” hosted an event in Aichi Prefecture that was attended by the Unification Church leader.

“I went there with a firebomb, planning to attack the head of the Unification Church,” Yamagami was quoted as telling investigators.

But he was unable to enter the venue and had to give up on the plan, the sources said.

He later tried to fashion a bomb, but then opted for handmade guns, according to the sources.

Yamagami told investigators he started making guns around the spring last year after watching YouTube instructional videos, according to sources.

The Nara prefectural police said Yamagami’s statements show that he was intent on killing a single target, which explained his decision to switch from bombmaking to making guns.

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