Investigative officials say the suspect in the shooting death of former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo told them that he had been looking for a chance to approach Abe.

NHK learned this by speaking to the officials.

The 41-year-old suspect, Yamagami Tetsuya, said he was initially making explosives but later shifted to producing guns.

Yamagami explained that this was because firearms suited his goal of killing Abe without fail.

Police believe that Yamagami approached Abe diagonally from behind when the former prime minister was giving a campaign speech in the city of Nara on July 8. They believe Yamagami was only a few meters away from Abe when he opened fire.

Yamagami told investigators that the day before he went to a venue in Okayama where Abe delivered a speech.

Police say Yamagami may have thought that campaign rallies where Abe would be surrounded by a number of voters would allow a chance to approach him.