A Japanese court has sentenced Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, who admitted to assassinating former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, to life imprisonment, according to a report from NHK public television on Wednesday, bringing to a close a case that exposed long-standing ties between Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the Unification Church.
The Nara District Court confirmed the verdict after Yamagami pleaded guilty to killing Abe in July 2022 during an election campaign speech in the western city of Nara, a crime that shocked Japan, a country known for its strict gun control laws. Prosecutors sought a life sentence, while defense lawyers argued for no more than 20 years, citing Yamagami’s upbringing as the child of a church adherent.
Yamagami told the court he targeted Abe over the former leader’s perceived links to the church, saying his aim was to harm the organization and expose its political connections, revelations that later led to investigations, the withdrawal of political ties, and the dissolution order of the church’s Japanese branch, while also prompting tighter security measures for public officials.