Abe murder suspect to undergo mental examination: reports
Gulf Times
Tetsuya Yamagami leaves a police station in the city of Nara. Source: KYODO
The man accused of assassinating Japan's former prime minister Shinzo Abe is set to undergo an examination of his mental condition around the time of the incident, local media reported Saturday.
Abe was gunned down on the campaign trail on July 8 in the western city of Nara, two days before the country's upper house elections.
His accused killer Tetsuya Yamagami is in custody and reportedly targeted Abe because he believed the former leader was linked to the Unification Church.
On Friday, the Nara District Court approved a request by the local public prosecutors office for a psychiatric examination of 41-year-old Yamagami, the Asahi Shimbun and other local media reported, citing unnamed investigative sources.
