Tetsuya Yamagami, the suspect in the fatal shooting of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, was indicted Jan. 13. He was also charged with violating the Firearm and Sword Possession Control Law over the incident last July 8 while Abe was giving a campaign speech in the city of Nara for the Upper House election.

The slaying was an unpardonable crime, no matter what Yamagami’s reasons were for carrying out the act. Outright violence against a politician constitutes the gravest threat to a democratic society that is based on open debate on policy issues.

Disturbing facts about Yamagami’s life have since emerged that indicate his family life collapsed because of huge donations his mother, an ardent adherent of the Unification Church, made to the religious group, now formally called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification.

Yamagami, 42, told investigators after his arrest he targeted Abe in the belief he had a close relationship with the church. If this really is the reason for the appalling crime, we must ask ourselves how someone could have fallen into such profound isolation without any means of seeking help.

The trial must uncover the environment and background that gave birth to the dark corners of his mind and help identify and understand underlying problems that gave rise to such violence.

In the aftermath of the slaying, it emerged that many children of Unification Church followers had suffered similar tribulations due to their parents’ devotion to the group.

As these victims came forward with their own stories, which led to the creation of an organization for mutual help, their voices prompted political and administrative responses to the issue. More needs to be done to spread understanding and support for victims within our society.

The core problem of the plight of so-called second-generation followers boils down to this: Children of parents who are followers of a religious organization that is engaged in activities that are at odds with social norms are at huge risk even if they have not chosen to become followers themselves.

A survey of 1,131 people who claimed to be the offspring of religious followers found that nearly 90 percent of the respondents become followers of their parents’ religion when they were 12 years old or younger. The survey was conducted last autumn by Social Research Action Chiki Lab.

In such situations, many people have a hard time trying to acquire a new value system that differs from the teachings instilled into them by religious groups, even after they leave the organizations. They often find it hard to build normal relationships with other people.

The government dragged its heels on providing support to such needy people on grounds it was a religious issue. However, the welfare ministry changed its stance and came up with guidelines for identifying cases of child abuse involving adherence to religions. This is a step froward.

Compelling children to take part in a religious group’s activities or imposing a ban on entertainment or blanket restrictions on children’s relations and marriages amounts to abuse under the new guidelines. The guidelines call on child consultation centers and related welfare organizations to actively respond to such cases.

The guidelines go so far as to call on welfare organizations to immediately consult with police over whether to file a legal complaint when they come across cases where a religious organization instructs or suggests such abusive acts.

But child consultation centers need to act cautiously because their involvement could prompt parents under the influence of a religious group to take even stronger actions toward their children.

They also need to deal with more than 200,000 requests each year for advice over possible child abuse cases. The government must steadily increase the number of experts in welfare and psychology, as well as facilities, to protect children from abusive parents. It should also urge schools and local communities to pay more attention to this problem.

Abe’s death highlighted a history of close ties between the Unification Church and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party going back over half a century.

Not only did the LDP fail to tackle problems with the church, some politicians even sought to deepen their ties with the group to receive its help during election campaigns.

This is a problem that directly concerns the foundation of democratic politics.

During unified local elections to be held this spring, candidates for local government chiefs or local assemblies will face harsh questions about their relationships with the Unification Church. The ruling party cannot hope to dispel public distrust unless it makes determined efforts to uncover all related facts and offers convincing responses to them.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Jan. 14