This article is a continuation of the first part here.
This post is a DeepL translation (partially revised by the blog administrator) of the following article.
本投稿は以下の記事のDeepL翻訳（一部、管理人修正済み）です。
The gifts were an English-Japanese dictionary, an English proficiency test reference book...
"I don't care about the Unification Church or the relief bill. All I care about is Tetsuya's future."
This is the paternal uncle of Tetsuya Yamagami, 42, who shot former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. In his tone of voice, I could tell that I sensed a strong, undisturbed desire from the uncle to put the past behind him and think only of how the suspect, Tetsuya Yamagami, should live his life from now on.
What is the suspect thinking now at the detention center, after the incident on July 8?
"Tetsuya's sister, who has been visiting Tetsuya, tells me that Tetsuya is doing well. He has been given food, clothing, and shelter, and he doesn't have this much free time. His sister has given him an English-Japanese dictionary and I have given him a reference book for the English proficiency test. But Tetsuya doesn't seem to be studying at all, and his sister seems to be getting angry with him."
On December 10, a bill to provide relief to victims of the former Unification Church was passed. The crackdown on the Unification Church has become increasingly severe.
"The LDP probably passed the relief bill because they don't want to comply with the dissolution request. If the Unification Church is dissolved, it will become a liquidating corporation. Then the court will appoint a full-time liquidator, and its internal documents will be available, and we will know how much money was transferred to Abe's video message. That's why they don't want to dissolve it."
Although his uncle was quick to dismiss the Unification Church as unimportant, he did express doubt about the extended period of time Yamagami was detained for Psyche evaluation. Currently, Tetsuya is detained at the Osaka Detention Center until January 10.
Initially, the expert testimony detention of the Yamagami suspect was scheduled to last until November 29, but at the request of the Nara District Public Prosecutors Office, it was extended until February 6 next year. In response, the defense filed a quasi-appeal, and the district court issued a decision to shorten the period to January 10.
The district attorney again asked for an extension of the period of expert testimony detention, and the summary court granted the extension until January 23, but the district court reversed the summary court's decision and again set the date to January 10.
The uncle said, "Tetsuya would be patient for 2 months, but I think 4 months would be too much for my cousin.I talked with the prosecutor for about two hours during the Psyche evaluation, but all we did was just small talks. There was no need for the evaluation. The fact that the summary court, and not the district court, extended the detention period for the expert testimony suggests that the prosecutors thought that the summary court would do what they wanted."
On December 24, it was learned that the Nara District Public Prosecutors Office had decided to indict Yamagami for murder.
"I am not convinced. I have always wondered if it was really necessary to have an expert opinion in the first place," said the uncle.
He's in his mid-60's when he gets out after serving his sentence?
"I have no interest in the Unification Church or any of its victims. I am just doing it for Tetsuya. His sentence will probably be 25 years, on parole, and he will get out in 22 or 23 years. I have three sons, too, and I tell them, 'When Tetsuya gets out, I'm counting on you. They all agree. Tetsuya used to come here to play. My children all call him Tecchan, and they are like brothers. There is a temple in Wakayama that is related to our ancestors, and we used to go there together."
Currently, the uncle is preparing money for him, when Yamagami completes his sentence and is released from prison.
After Yamagami's father committed suicide in 1984, his wife donated 60 million yen of his life insurance money to the Unification Church. She also donated another 40 million yen in 1998 after selling land and a house she inherited from her late father. In total, she paid about 100 million yen to the Unification Church, but Yamagami's uncle got about 50 million yen back from 2005 to 2014.
"In 2004, when Yamagami's mother went to Korea and didn't come back, she was behind on her rent, and her children were without food, I sent many faxes to the Unification Church asking for a refund. But the Unification Church never responded, and when they did, all they would say was, "Just Wait". But when Tetsuya attempted suicide in 2005, they rushed to refund their money.
In the future, when Tetsuya completes his sentence and gets out, he needs the money. That's why we are preparing now. I also said to the Unification Church, 'How much are you going to pay him? But the Unification Church is on the run right now."
In a file placed in front of his uncle, there are letters addressed to the Unification Church, as well as detailed notes with contact information and details of reporters who have interviewed, showing his compassion for Yamagami.
It seems that support for the suspect Yamagami is spreading throughout society. His uncle has received many supplies and other items from all over Japan.
He says, "Things have calmed down recently, but we are still receiving clothes, cushions, snacks, money-charged cards, and many other useful things. Some people even send us cash. He says he wants all of them to be sent back to the senders."
The detention center where Yamagami is being held has also received many supplies, and those that cannot be stored are being kept at his uncle's house.
The video message that triggered the incident, and Corona
"If only it hadn't been for Corona," the uncle mused.
"Tetsuya's sister was probably the smartest of the three siblings. But she had to drop out of high school due to financial problems. After that, she took the University Entrance Qualification Examination, but she got a job and started living on her own.
I met Tetsuya's sister in 2020, I think, before Corona became popular, and we were talking about the future. When I asked her about her savings, I was surprised to hear that she had none. After paying rent, food, and a scholarship out of her monthly salary, she had nothing left, so I paid off the entire scholarship myself. I convinced myself that when I cleared those problems of Tetsuya's sister, I will do it for Tetsuya next, but then I couldn't see Tetsuya in Corona anymore."
Despite her poverty, Tetsuya's sister was trying her best to rebuild her life. Meanwhile, the suspect, Yamagami, became even more isolated in the Corona whirlpool. In 2020, when his uncle and Yamagami's sister had found a path to the future, Yamagami registered with a temporary employment agency and discovered the video while working at a factory.
It was a video message from former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the Union for Peace in the Universe (UPF), an affiliate organization founded by Unification Church founder Moon Myung Moon and his wife.
"I highly appreciate the emphasis on the value of the family in UPF's vision for peace." said Shinzo Abe, former Prime Minister of Japan, in the videotaped message.
The person whom Prime Minister Abe praised was unmistakably the enemy who had destroyed Yamagami's "family.
And then, on July 8, 2022, at 11:31 a.m., the incident occurred....
"Why don't you go see the suspect in Yamagami?" I asked Yamagami's uncle, but he shook his head.
"I heard from his sister that Tetsuya was apologizing to me. I would feel sorry if I met Tetsuya, wouldn't I? That's why I won't go see him. I don't intend to appear as a witness in future trials either. I already told everything to the prosecutor right after the incident."
Then, the uncle recounted the suspect as below.
"Tetsuya is very kind. Tetsuya is so kind that he protects his sister. That's why his sister doesn't have that much hatred toward the Unification Church. That's because Tetsuya took the Unification Church in his stride and protected his sister. That is why she still calls him "Tecchan" and adores him.
That kind of attitudes reminds me of my brother, Tetsuya's father. I read in an article somewhere that my brother was over drunk and violated his wife, but that's not true. Immediately after the incident, the prosecutor came and asked his wife what kind of person my brother was. She looked up and said, 'He was a kind person'. My brother was too kind. Tetsuya is the same."
As I have said many times, "Blood is thicker than water."
The uncle compares his nephew, Yamagami, to his younger brother (Yamagami's father) who committed suicide in 1984. He says emphatically, "I will continue to support Tetsuya as hard as I can."
"My mother passed away, too, but I thought my brother said to me, 'Take care of my mother,' and I've been doing that ever since. So I'm doing my best to take care of Tetsuya as if my brother had said to me, 'Brother, take care of my child. It's natural. I take care of Tetsuya as if he were my own son. It is the same with Tetsuya's sister. The law says that the obligation to support immediate family members is written in the law. The duty of support means that if you eat one meal, you have to divide it into two."
"I do it for Tetsuya's sake, for when Tetsuya comes out. That is the only way. He is my brother's child, so I will do anything. It's a matter of course. I've said it many times, blood is thicker than water."
His uncle and other relatives continue to wait for the day when Yamagami will step "outside the walls".
What will Yamagami be thinking at the end of December, 2022, when he passes the New Year?
Reporting and writing by Sunao Matsuba,
Editorial Department News Team, Shueisha Online
