Suspect in Former Japanese Prime Minister’s Assassination Confesses to Murder
According to the English section of webangah News Agency, citing local Japanese media and Anadolu, the suspect accused of killing Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-serving former prime minister, confessed to his charges at the beginning of his trial.
Forty-five-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami shot Abe on July 8, 2022, during an election event in Nara City, Kansai region in western Japan. Yamagami used a homemade firearm and Abe died from his injuries on the same day.
Kyodo news reported that Yamagami told investigators he committed the crime out of resentment toward the Unification Church due to his family’s bankruptcy caused by large donations-approximately 100 million yen ($660,000)-made by his mother to this group.
The controversial church was founded in 1954 by a staunch anti-communist in South Korea and enjoyed support from Nobusuke Kishi, Abe’s grandfather. The organization has since been dissolved in Japan.
Abe’s assassination revealed links between this church and lawmakers from Japan’s ruling liberal democratic Party. The Nara District Court is scheduled to deliver its verdict on this case in January 2026.
Following Abe’s death, Japan moved against this religious sect; courts ordered its dissolution earlier this year as part of government efforts initiated in 2023.
