Japan: Assassin of ex-PM Shinzo Abe jailed for life

The man who shot ex-Japan PM Shinzo Abe with a handmade gun in 2022 is due to spend his life in prison. The killer, Tetsuya Yamagami, said his actions were fueled by anger over the controversial Unification Church.

A court in Japan on Wednesday sentenced the man charged with fatally shooting former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to life in prison, more than three years after the assassination sent shockwaves around the world.

Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, had earlier pleaded guilty to killing Abe with a handmade gun in July 2022 in the western city of Nara.

The assassination took place in broad-daylight while Abe — Japan's longest serving prime minister —was delivering an election campaign address. 

Abe was not in power at the time of the shooting, but he remained one of the country's most influential politicians with plans to return to office.

Yamagami was arrested on the spot. 

Shinzo Abe's assassination 'unprecedented' in Japan's recent history

Yamagami's trial began in October, with the shooter admitting to the murder.

A trial continues even if a defendant admits guilt under the Japanese legal framework.

Last month, prosecutors had demanded a life sentence, deeming Yamagami's act an "extremely grave incident that is unprecedented in post-war ⁠history".

Judge Shinichi Tanaka of the Nara District Court handed down the sentence on Wednesday.

The sensational trial saw over 600 people queuing up in the morning to draw lots for the 31 public seats available in the courtroom, according to Japan's Kyodo news agency. 

Shock killing over controversial church

Abe's shooting stunned Japan, which has little experience of gun violence due to its strict gun-control laws.

The assassination also laid bare a deep link between prominent lawmakers of Abe's big-tent conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and, the Unification Church— a secretive Christian denomination that many consider a cult.

The gunman told the police that he targeted Abe over his connections to the South-Korea based church.

Yamagami told the court that his mother was forced to make large donations to the church, driving his family to bankruptcy. 

He said he took out his anger on Abe because the political leader had once sent a video message at an event held by a group affiliated with the Unification Church.

The Japan branch of the church acknowledged that the mother of the shooter was a member. It said that Abe — though not a member — had supported the church in promoting peace.

In the aftermath of Abe's killing, the LDP pulled back from the  Unification Church. Japan also ordered a probe into the relgious organization, which ended with the church's Japanese branch being stripped of its tax-exempt religious status and ordered disbanded.

Edited by: Darko Janjevic