Japan court gives life sentence to former prime minister assassin News
ぱちょぴ（pacyopi）, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Japan court gives life sentence to former prime minister assassin

The Nara district court on Wednesday sentenced Tetsuya Yamagami to life in prison for his assassination of Japan’s former prime minister, Shinzo Abe. He pleaded guilty to murder, having shot the retired prime minister in 2022 with a homemade gun, according to local media.

Yamagami’s defence team focused on the homemade gun, arguing that the firearm laws at the time of the offence did not apply to the type of weapon used. Presiding Judge Shinichi Tanaka disagreed and convicted Yamagami of also violating Japan’s Firearms and Swords Control Law. The defence then went on to ask for a sentence of 20 years imprisonment or less, stating that Yamagami was a victim of abuse. At the same time, the prosecution argued that many people endure a difficult upbringing without resorting to murder. The judge contemplated that the defendant approached the victim, waited for an opportunity, and then shot in public, at the risk of injuring others, before condemning the “malicious act” and sentencing him to full life imprisonment. 

Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK), Japan’s national broadcaster, reported that Yamagami was targeting the retired prime minister for his alleged affiliation with the Unification Church. This church is credited by Yamagami as the reason his mother neglected him as a child. Furthermore, the defendant said the Unification Church ruined his life, as providing large donations to the cult led his family to financial crisis. It was revealed in court that Yamagami had previously commented under a now-suspended anonymous username, “@333_hill,“ expressing his grudge against the church. 

The shooting sparked a massive outcry, questioning the latest moral panic about religion in Japan’s public sphere and how the Unification church has lobbied Japan to solicit funds. Since 1980, the Unification Church has paid out over 2 billion yen in court-ordered damages and over 20 billion yen in settlement damages for illegally pressuring members into donation. The shooting would draw additional scrutiny against the church, given that the Tokyo District Court ordered the dissolution of the Japanese branch of the Unification Church in March 2025.

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