Japanese Police Reportedly Request Indictment of Man Who Sent Death Threats to Prime Minister

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Japanese police have asked prosecutors to indict a local man for tweeting posts that can be interpreted as a threat to assassinate Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Japanese media reported on Wednesday.

The Japanese public has been divided lately over whether or not a state funeral should be held for slain Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated last month.

"If a state funeral is implemented, Kishida will be next," one tweet read, as quoted by the Kyodo news agency.

Another tweet said, "it's time to start making handmade guns," in an apparent reference to Abe's assassin who used a homemade weapon.

The alarming tweets posted on July 14 were reported to the police by an internet user. The Metropolitan Police Department referred the case to the prosecutor's office and said that police resources were wasted in response to what were in fact unfounded threats whose author must be indicted, according to the report.

The man, a 48-year-old resident of Chiba Prefecture's city of Narashino, has confessed to the charges. He told investigators that the government should spend taxpayers' money on tackling COVID-19 and helping the poor instead of holding a state funeral for the late Japanese prime minister, the news agency said.

A nationwide telephone poll conducted by Kyodo on August 10-11 showed that Kishida's intention to hold a state funeral for Abe due to his record eight years and eight months as prime minister, as well as his significant recognition in the international community, was opposed by 56% of those surveyed, while 42.5% were in favor of holding the ceremony. It is scheduled to take place at a Tokyo arena on September 27.

Abe, 67, was attacked on July 8 in the Japanese city of Nara during his campaign speech. Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, approached the politician from behind and fired two shots from a distance of about 10 meters (33 feet). The attacker told investigators that he decided to carry out the assassination because of Abe's alleged ties to a religious sect that he claimed had bankrupted his mother. The group has denied having had anything to do with the former prime minister.