A Japanese court on Tuesday sentenced the man who assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to life imprisonment, bringing legal closure to a case that stunned the nation and the world.
The Nara District Court handed down the sentence to Tetsuya Yamagami, who was convicted of murder and weapons-related offences for the fatal shooting of Abe in July 2022. Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, was killed while delivering a campaign speech ahead of upper house elections in the city of Nara.
Yamagami had admitted to the killing during the trial, stating that he targeted Abe because of the former leader’s perceived links to the Unification Church, which he blamed for his family’s financial ruin due to his mother’s large donations to the group. Prosecutors argued that the attack was carefully planned and constituted an unprecedented act of political violence in post-war Japan.
Seeking the maximum penalty, prosecutors described the assassination as an “extremely grave crime” that undermined democratic processes and shocked a country known for its strict gun control laws and low violent crime rates. The court agreed, ruling that the seriousness of the offence warranted life imprisonment.
The defence had asked for a lighter sentence, citing Yamagami’s troubled upbringing and mental state. However, the court rejected the plea, emphasizing the profound impact of the crime on Japanese society and politics.
Shinzo Abe, 67, was serving as a senior figure in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) at the time of his death and had previously held office twice, shaping Japan’s economic and foreign policies for more than a decade.
The assassination triggered widespread debate in Japan over political security and the relationship between politicians and religious organisations. It also led to tighter security measures for public officials and increased scrutiny of ties between the Unification Church and political leaders.
The sentencing marks the end of one of the most significant criminal trials in modern Japanese history, nearly four years after the killing that sent shockwaves through the country and beyond.
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