Police investigating the assassination of Japan’s ex-prime minister Shinzo Abe have said the suspect held a grudge against a “specific organisation”.
The alleged gunman, named as Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, believed Abe was part of the group and shot him for that reason, they said, without naming the group.
Abe died in hospital on Friday morning after being shot while speaking at a political campaign event.
Tetsuya Yamagami has admitted shooting him with a homemade gun, police said.
Abe was Japan’s longest-serving prime minister and his death at the age of 67 has profoundly shocked a country where gun crime is very rare.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he was “simply speechless” at the news of Abe’s death, vowing that Japan’s democracy would “never yield to violence”.