Tetsuya Yamagami, the man who killed former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2022, has been sentenced to life imprisonment without parole, more than three years after the shocking assassination at a campaign rally in Nara.
Yamagami, 45, pleaded guilty to murder at the start of his trial last year, but debates over his punishment divided public opinion in Japan. Some view him as a cold-blooded killer, while others sympathize with his troubled upbringing.
During the trial, prosecutors argued Yamagami’s act was a “grave and malicious crime” that stunned a nation where gun violence is extremely rare.
His defense sought leniency, citing his mother’s financial ruin caused by donations to the controversial Unification Church and alleging Yamagami suffered religious abuse.
The court heard he bore a grudge against Abe for his ties to the church, which he blamed for his family’s hardships.
Judge Shinichi Tanaka of the Nara District Court said Wednesday, “The act of waiting for an opportunity, finding an opening, and targeting the victim with a gun is despicable and extremely malicious.”
Yamagami remained quiet, hands clasped and eyes downcast, as the sentence was delivered. Nearly 700 people had lined up for one of the 31 courtroom seats.
The assassination prompted nationwide scrutiny of the Unification Church, its financial practices, and links to politicians in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, leading to several cabinet resignations.
Armed with a homemade firearm made from metal pipes and duct tape, Yamagami fired two shots at Abe during the rally on 8 July 2022, initially intending to target church executives, not the former prime minister.
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