Japanese Court Sentences Abe's Assassin to Life Imprisonment in First Trial

The Japanese court has sentenced Tetsuya Yamagami, who assassinated former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, to life imprisonment in the first trial.

According to Kyodo News and NHK on January 21, the Nara District Court handed down a life sentence to Yamagami during the sentencing hearing held that day, in line with the prosecution's request.

Tetsuya Yamagami, who assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

Previously, Japanese prosecutors had demanded life imprisonment, stating, "Killing politicians or others to harm a specific organization can never be tolerated in a nation governed by the rule of law."

Yamagami's defense argued that the defendant was a victim of religious abuse and insisted that a sentence of no more than 20 years in prison would be appropriate.

Since October last year, the trial has been held 15 times. During the proceedings, the prosecution and defense clashed over how much weight should be given to the influence of Yamagami's mother donating 100 million yen (approximately 930.73 million won) to the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (formerly the Unification Church), and how this affected the crime.

The defense maintained that the Family Federation had a negative impact on Yamagami's personality, behavior, and his family, and that these circumstances should be taken into account in sentencing. However, the prosecution acknowledged Yamagami's troubled upbringing but argued that it did not justify a reduction in his sentence.

In 2022, Yamagami fired a homemade gun at former Prime Minister Abe during a House of Councillors (Upper House) election campaign event in Nara City, Nara Prefecture. Abe was transported to the hospital but died.

From the early stages of the investigation, Yamagami admitted to the crime, stating, "Our lives were ruined by my mother's donations," and "I held a grudge against the organization and targeted former Prime Minister Abe because of his deep ties to the Family Federation."