Killer of Japan’s ex-PM pleads guilty on his first day of trial
(MENAFN) A man accused of killing former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has pleaded guilty on the opening day of his trial.
Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, told a Tokyo court that “everything is true,” according to local media reports. Yamagami also faces charges related to arms control violations. He used a homemade firearm to shoot Abe during a political campaign event in Nara in 2022. Abe, known for his hawkish foreign policy and his signature economic strategy “Abenomics,” was shot multiple times and died later that day in hospital.
Yamagami reportedly told investigators he targeted Abe because he blamed the former PM for promoting the Unification Church, which he claimed had financially ruined his mother. He alleged that his mother had donated roughly 100 million yen ($660,000) as a demonstration of faith to the church, often referred to as the “Moonies.”
The assassination drew attention to the close ties between Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party and the Unification Church, prompting the resignation of four ministers over the years. In March, a Tokyo court ordered the church’s disbandment, revoking its tax-exempt status and requiring liquidation of its assets.
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