Suspect in killing of former Japanese Prime Minister Abe sentenced to life in prison

Tokyo: Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, has been sentenced to life in prison for the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The Nara District Court confirmed the sentence today. The suspect admitted to killing the former prime minister. The suspect planned the assassination of the former prime minister to oppose the ties between Japan’s ruling party and the controversial South Korean church. Abe holds the record for the longest-serving prime minister in Japanese politics. However, he continued to serve as an MP after leaving the post of prime minister.

Abe was shot in 2022 while campaigning in Nara City. The incident shocked the world in Japan, which has a strong stance on gun control. The suspect said that Abe shared a video message in a group linked to a controversial church and that after watching the message, he planned to assassinate the former prime minister. The former prime minister was targeted by a critic who opposed church policies.

In fact, the suspect initially wanted to kill the leader of the Unification Church. But then he changed his plan and targeted Abe. The suspect stated that his mother blindly believed in the Unification Church, donated endlessly to the church, and that her family was ruined because of it, and it was against this backdrop that he wanted to kill Abe, who was supporting the church group. There has been criticism of the way religious organizations use supporters psychologically and financially, and the links that leaders have with such groups.