Shinzo Abe assassination: Japanese head to polls in grief and disbelief

As the country struggled to come to terms with the first assassination of a current or former leader for almost 90 years, officials in the Liberal Democratic party (LDP), which Abe dominated for a decade, insisted his death would not derail the democratic process.

This, though, will be an election like no other in recent times, taking place in the immediate aftermath of a crime that will reverberate in the public consciousness well beyond Sunday.

The suspect, Tetsuya Yamagami, told police that he initially planned to attack the leader of a religious group that he blamed for bankrupting his mother and ruining his family, the Kyodo news agency said, quoting investigative sources. His mother, he said, had made several donations to the group, whose name police have not revealed, adding that he had visited several locations where Abe had given campaign speeches.

On Saturday a black hearse carrying the body of Abe accompanied by his wife, Akie, arrived at their home in Tokyo from the hospital where staff had battled for five hours to save his life after he was shot in the back and neck at close range. Neighbours and senior party colleagues lowered their heads as the vehicle passed by.

His death has prompted criticism of security arrangements and will almost certainly mean an end to the proximity voters enjoy to candidates at the kind of pre-election rally Abe attended on Friday.

A debate about gun laws is unlikely, however. Japan already has an almost zero-tolerance approach to gun ownership, and the weapon that killed Abe is thought to have been homemade.