A Japan district court has decided to reduce the length of the psychiatric evaluation of the man suspected of shooting former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, reversing an earlier extension of the process, Kyodo News reported on Friday.
Tetsuya Yamagami, an unemployed 42-year-old, has been identified by police as the suspect who approached Abe during a campaign speech in the city of Nara on July 8 and opened fire with a handmade gun.
The local court initially granted prosecutors' request to continue Yamagami's psychiatric evaluation until Feb. 6, extending it for an extra three months from the initial end date of Nov. 29.
Yamagami's defence appealed the extension, claiming that an evaluation that "lasts over six months is much too long, and is illegal given that it is neither necessary nor reasonable," according to the Kyodo report.
The Nara District Court decided on Friday the evaluation would conclude on Jan. 10, the report said. Nara prosecutors were not available for comment outside of office hours. Yamagami's defense team could not be reached.