Tokyo: The suspected killer of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe said he had used a handmade gun, police said on Friday.
The police named the suspected killer as unemployed 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami.
Yamagami told the police said he held a grudge against an organisation he believed the politician was connected to.
Senior police officers in the western region of Nara, told reporters, “That’s the suspect’s assertion, and we have determined that [the gun] is clearly handmade in appearance, although our analysis is currently ongoing.”
Police said it was not clear if the “particular organisation” mentioned by the suspect actually existed, adding that investigations were continuing, but several Japanese media outlets described the organisation as a religious group.
Yamagami was pictured at the scene holding a large boxy black object that appeared to have two barrels.
Officers in protective gear began searching the suspect’s home after 5pm and have confiscated “several handmade gun-like items”.
The suspect, who addressed police in a “matter-of-fact way”, told officers he had worked for the Maritime Self-Defense Force – Japan’s navy – for three years from 2002, but those claims were also under investigation. Yamagami also told police he had learned about Abe’s visit online, the officers said.
They added that they were probing whether there were any problems with security at the campaign event where the assassination took place on Friday morning.