The mother of the man who murdered former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is a member of the Unification Church, a religious movement known as the Moon Sect.
The church has announced this itself after police previously revealed that the perpetrator harboured a grudge against an organization he believed Abe was affiliated with.
The police did not mention the name of the organization, but according to local media, it was a religious institution. The suspect’s mother is said to have transferred a lot of money to it, as a result of which the family ended up in financial distress.
The Association Church now says that the suspect’s mother went to church once a month. The church did not share information about possible donations that the mother would have made to the church.
The leader of the church in Japan does let it be known that some people transfer large amounts to the church and says that he is grateful for it. Tomihiro Tanaka also reports that the mother of the 41-year-old suspect joined the church in 1998. In 2002, according to him, she would have run into financial problems. He does not know what was behind this.
According to Tanaka, former Prime Minister Abe has expressed his support for the Unification Church in the past but has never been a member. The church is known for its mass weddings. It was founded in the middle of the last century by the Korean pastor Sun Myung-moon, who saw himself as the heir of Jesus. The members are also called moonies.