A Japanese court has sentenced Tetsuya Yamagami to life in prison for the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in July 2022. The killing, which took place while Abe was campaigning in Nara, shocked Japan, a country where gun crime is extremely rare.
Yamagami, 45, pleaded guilty at the start of his trial in October last year. Prosecutors had sought a life sentence, arguing the crime was unprecedented in postwar history, while the defence had called for a term of no more than 20 years. Under Japanese law, life imprisonment allows for the possibility of parole, though many inmates die in prison.
The case exposed Abe's ties to the Unification Church, also known as the Moonies. Yamagami told investigators he targeted Abe because of the former leader's links to the religious group, which he blamed for bankrupting his family. His mother had donated over ¥100 million to the church, leaving the family in poverty.
The revelations prompted public anger and forced the governing Liberal Democratic Party to distance itself from the church. Japan later stripped the church of its tax-exempt status and ordered it to dissolve. The case also led to a new law protecting people from aggressive solicitation of donations by religious groups.
Some members of the public expressed sympathy for Yamagami, citing the damage the church had caused his family. Thousands signed a petition for leniency, and care packages were sent to him in detention.
