Man arrested for threating to kill Abe

OSAKA - Local police in western Japan arrested a man in Okayama prefecture, who sent a message threating to kill Liberal Democratic Party's leader Shinzo Abe, local press reported on Wednesday.

The 64-year-old office worker was arrested on suspicion of fraudulent obstruction of original police business, after sending the letter to a news agency based in Oakayama city of the prefecture on Tuesday afternoon, according to the daily Mainichi Shimbun.

The report cited the police as saying that the written message said he would assassinate the party's leader on Dec 26, the day Abe will form his cabinet, because the leader would "deride" people in the country, adding that the message was sent by fax machine in a convenience store near his home.

His motives for the matter are still under investigation.