A Japanese court on Jan. 21 sentenced Tetsuya Yamagami to life in prison for the 2022 assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Yamagami, 45, had admitted to killing Abe with a homemade gun as the former prime minister delivered a campaign speech outside a train station in Nara on July 8, 2022.
The 67-year-old Abe, who was Japan’s longest-serving leader when he resigned in 2020, was shot twice and collapsed.
He was airlifted to a nearby hospital and later pronounced dead after receiving massive blood transfusions, officials said.
Yamagami was arrested at the scene. When apprehended, he admitted his intention to kill Abe, whom he believed was connected to a religious organization that had bankrupted his family.
He told investigators that he initially targeted the Unification Church’s leader, but found it difficult, so he changed targets. The assassination led Japan’s National Police Agency to increase police protection of dignitaries.
He linked Abe to the Unification Church because the former prime minister had sent a video message to an affiliated event, leading Yamagami to believe he was a significant connection between Japanese politics and the church.
Yamagami apologized to Abe’s widow, Akie Abe, in an earlier court session.
In handing down the sentence, Judge Shinichi Tanaka called the shooting “despicable” and said, “It is clear that using a gun in a large crowd is an extremely dangerous and malicious crime,” according to public broadcaster NHK.
Prosecutors sought life imprisonment for Yamagami, while his lawyers sought a maximum sentence of 20 years, arguing he had suffered as a child due to his family’s connection to the church.
Japanese law authorizes the death penalty in murder cases, but prosecutors do not usually request it unless at least two people are killed.
Takashi Fumimoto, one of Yamagami’s defense lawyers, said the decision did not take into consideration their request for clemency and was regrettable, adding that Yamagami’s legal team would consider an appeal after consulting with him.
Abe was Japan’s longest-serving postwar leader, holding power for about nine years before stepping down in 2020.
He served as Japan’s prime minister and as the president of the Liberal Democratic Party from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020.
Abe led the largest faction of the governing party and forged a friendship with U.S. President Donald Trump. He was the first foreign leader to meet Trump after his 2016 election victory.
He resigned in August 2020, citing health concerns.
The Associated Press, Reuters, and Aldgra Fredly contributed to this report.
