Man who killed former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe jailed for life

A man has been sentenced to life in prison for assassinating former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, according to public broadcaster NHK.

Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, admitted to killing the conservative leader at a rally with a homemade weapon on 8 July 2022.

Two gunshots were heard as Mr Abe was speaking outside a train station in Nara in support of the Liberal Democratic Party, before he collapsed holding his chest. Officials said he died almost instantly.

It was the first assassination of a sitting or former Japanese premier since the 1930s.

Throughout the trial, which started in October, prosecutors were seeking a life sentence for Yamagami – saying the act was an “extremely grave incident” that was “unprecedented in post-war history”.

Defence lawyers asked for a 20-year limit on the sentence, citing the gunman’s grudge against the controversial Unification Church.

Yamagami had previously told officials that massive donations his mother made to the church caused his family’s financial collapse.

He said he killed Mr Abe after seeing a video message the former leader sent to a group affiliated with the church.

According to NHK, as the trial opened, Yamagami admitted to the charges read by prosecutors, saying: “It is true that I did it.”

Founded in South Korea in 1954, the church is famous for its mass weddings and counts Japanese followers as a key source of income.

But some families claim it manipulates members, sometimes referred to as ‘Moonies’, into draining their savings to make donations.

The church argues that donations are part of legitimate religious activities.

After Mr Abe’s assassination, an internal investigation from the Liberal Democratic Party found that more than a hundred lawmakers had dealings with the church.

Last year, a Tokyo court ordered the Japanese branch of the Unification Church to disband. The church has vowed to fight the court order.

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