Assassin of Japan’s former PM Shinzo Abe sentenced to life in prison |
TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese court sentenced a man who admitted assassinating former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe to life imprisonment on Wednesday, after a court case that revealed decades of cozy ties between Japan’s governing party and a controversial South Korean church.
Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, earlier admitted to killing Abe in July 2022 as the former prime minister was giving a campaign speech in the western city of Nara.
Abe, one of Japan’s most influential politicians, was serving as a regular lawmaker after leaving the prime minister’s job when he was killed in 2022 while campaigning. It shocked a nation with strict gun control.
Yamaguchi told investigators he was motivated by a desire to expose Japanese politicians’ ties to the Unification Church, which he blamed for encouraging his mother to neglect him during a difficult childhood.
Yamagami pleaded guilty to murder in the trial that started in October. The Nara District Court announced Wednesday that it had issued a guilty verdict and sentenced Yamagami to life in prison, as prosecutors requested.
Takashi Fujimoto, one of the defense lawyers, said the decision did not take into consideration their request for clemency based on the defendant’s difficult upbringing and was “regrettable.” He added that Yamagami’s legal team would consider an appeal after consulting with their client.
Yamagami said he killed Abe after seeing a video message the former leader sent to a group affiliated with the Unification Church. He added that his goal was to hurt the church, which he hated, and expose its ties with Abe, investigators have said.
Prosecutors demanded life imprisonment for Yamagami, noting the seriousness of the attack and the danger it caused at a........