"Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, earlier pleaded guilty to killing Abe in July 2022 during his election campaign speech in the western city of Nara. Abe, one of Japan's most influential politicians, was serving as a regular lawmaker after leaving the prime minister's job when he was killed in 2022 while campaigning in the western city of Nara. It shocked a nation with strict gun control. Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, pleaded guilty to murder in the trial that started in October. The Nara district court confirmed the verdict and sentenced Yamagami to life in prison, as prosecutors requested."
"The case revealed decades of cozy ties between Japan's governing party and a controversial South Korean church. Yamagami said he killed Abe after seeing a video message the former leader sent to a group affiliated with the Unification Church. He added that his goal was to hurt the church, which he hated, and expose its ties with Abe. Prosecutors demanded life imprisonment for Yamagami, while his lawyers sought a sentence of no more than 20 years, citing his troubles as the child of a church adherent."
"The revelation of close ties between the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the church caused the party to pull back from the church. It also prompted investigations that ended with the church's Japanese branch being stripped of its tax-exempt religious status and ordered dissolved. The killing has also led to officials working to increase police protection of dignitaries."
Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, pleaded guilty to killing former prime minister Shinzo Abe during a July 2022 campaign speech in Nara. The Nara district court confirmed the verdict and sentenced Yamagami to life imprisonment, as prosecutors requested. Yamagami said he killed Abe after seeing a video message Abe sent to a group affiliated with the Unification Church, intending to hurt the church and expose its ties to Abe. The case revealed decades of close ties between the governing Liberal Democratic Party and the church, prompting investigations that led to the church’s Japanese branch losing tax-exempt status and being ordered dissolved. The killing also led to increased protection for dignitaries.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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