Japan court set to deliver verdict in fatal shooting of ex-PM Shinzo Abe

By Isabel Reynolds

 

A Japanese court is set to hand down its verdict on the man accused in the fatal 2022 shooting of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe —- a crime that horrified the nation and sparked controversy over the ruling party’s ties to a religious group.

 

Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, will face judgment at the Nara District Court, in the area where Abe was killed at close range with a home-made gun while giving a roadside campaign speech ahead of an upper house election. Yamagami has pleaded guilty, according to NHK and other media.

 

The court session begins at 1:30 p.m. Japan time. 

 

Prosecutors are seeking a life sentence, while his lawyers have sought leniency on the basis of difficult family circumstances. Yamagami told the court he targeted Abe for his ties to the group formerly known as the Unification Church, which he blamed for ruining his family by taking excessive donations from his mother. 

 

Abe was the country’s longest-serving premier when he stepped down in 2020, having made a name for his economic policies, especially the introduction of ultra-loose monetary policy, as well as for his efforts to build and maintain ties with US President Donald Trump after his first election victory. 

 

Yet Yamagami’s story of a blighted childhood drew public sympathy and prompted others to come forward with allegations against the church. A later investigation found about half of Abe’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party had connections with the group, a revelation that damaged party support. 

 

The group, now officially known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, is known for its mass weddings as well as for raising funds via sales of objects such as religious texts and urns at inflated prices.

 

A Tokyo court last year ordered the dissolution of the church, which has a history of legal rulings against it over its fund raising methods. The group has appealed against the move, which would strip it of its tax-free status as a religion. 

 

Yamagami’s verdict comes just as current Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, an Abe protege, prepares to call a snap general election. Takaichi, who hails from Nara, visited a memorial to Abe before welcoming South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on a visit to the western prefecture earlier this month.