Shinzo Abe was renowned for his economic policies and nationalistic bent, but his legacy also includes an association with conservative religious groups and there is some evidence it is this reputation that made him a target.
named the group in question: The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, known colloquially as the Unification Church.
Experts say the motivations of Mr Abe's killer reveal long-held associations between Japan's conservative politicians and a series of new, small and sometimes fringe religious groups, the power those churches hold and how useful they are at garnering support and winning elections.The Unification Church was officially founded in Seoul in 1954, and is known for its mass wedding ceremonies.
Yamagami's mother first joined the church around 1998, but stopped attending in a period between 2009 and 2017, a Unification Church official said. "In the case of the Unification Church, there's definitely a very rich leadership group that benefits greatly from the donations of its members and a large group of members who are expected to donate money," he said.He said exactly how much members are expected to donate was unclear, but exploitation of vulnerable families was likely to now be a focus for authorities.
"Conservative Japanese politicians, particularly Abe's grandfather Kishi sought the support of Reverend Moon and his church in a sort of anti-communist alliance of civic and religious organisations," he said. "There is a video of prime minister [Takeo] Fukuda in the 1980s, giving a speech to the Unification Church where he's praising them. You can find quotations from former prime minister [Yasuhiro] Nakasone, congratulating people on the event of a mass wedding held in a stadium in 1992," Dr Hall said.
It's common to find even high-profile candidates and politicians speaking to just a few dozen people standing on a milk crate. James Brown, an academic from Tokyo's Temple University, said there might be some security changes for high-profile candidates in the wake of Mr Abe's assassination, but he did not expect the ruling LDP to drastically change the system that has "helped keep them in power for all but a few years since 1955"."It also favours the LDP. They have an army of well-drilled supporters spread out throughout the country who have decades of experience in such campaigning.
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