Japan convicts Abe assassin; Yamagami sentenced to life in Nara court
The man who fatally shot former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been found guilty and sentenced to life in prison, more than three years after the broad-daylight assassination stunned a nation with some of the world’s strictest gun laws and triggered a reckoning over politics and religion.
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Judge Shinichi Tanaka delivered the sentence at a court in the city of Nara. Long lines formed early in the morning as people sought tickets to observe proceedings, underscoring intense public interest in the case and its far-reaching ramifications.
The defendant, identified in court as Yamagami, admitted to murder when the trial opened in October, though he contested some of the other charges, according to media reports. Under Japan’s legal system, trials proceed even if a defendant pleads guilty.
Prosecutors had sought a life sentence, calling the killing “unprecedented in our post-war history” and citing the “extremely serious consequences” for society, local media reported. Japan’s version of life imprisonment carries the theoretical possibility of parole, but experts note many inmates die in custody.
The trial centered on motive as much as method. Prosecutors argued that Yamagami targeted Abe to damage the Unification Church, a religious movement founded in South Korea in 1954 whose followers are sometimes called “Moonies.” Abe had spoken at events organized by some church-affiliated groups. “He thought if he killed someone as influential as Mr. Abe, he could draw public attention to the Church and fuel public criticism of it,” a prosecutor told the district court in October.
Defense attorneys urged leniency, saying Yamagami’s upbringing had been marred by “religious abuse” stemming from his mother’s extreme devotion to the church. After her husband’s death and with another son gravely ill, she donated heavily in an effort to “salvage” her family, ultimately giving around 100 million yen, a lawyer said. The family’s finances collapsed into bankruptcy, defense filings stated.
In the months after Abe’s killing, investigations exposed extensive links between the Unification Church and conservative politicians in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, prompting a cascade of public criticism and the resignation of four ministers. The revelations sharpened debate about political influence and the responsibilities of public officials regarding outside groups.
Prosecutors also emphasized premeditation. Beginning in 2020, Yamagami hand-crafted a firearm and conducted meticulous test firings in a remote mountainous area, they said. The weapon was used in the attack on Abe, who was speaking outdoors when he was shot at close range, an event that reverberated globally and raised immediate questions about security protocols.
The assassination became a stark wake-up call in a country where gun violence is exceedingly rare. A subsequent police review found that security staff at the scene did not initially recognize the first shot as gunfire and moved too late to protect the former prime minister.
Thursday’s verdict closes a legal chapter but leaves lingering societal questions about political accountability, the interplay between faith and public life, and how Japan balances open civic events with evolving security risks. Outside the courthouse, mourners continued to lay flowers at memorials for Abe in Nara, a gesture of remembrance that has persisted since the day of his death.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
