Life Sentence Sought for Abe Shooter Yamagami

Nara, Dec. 18 (Jiji Press)–Japanese public prosecutors sought a life sentence Thursday for defendant Tetsuya Yamagami on charges of murdering former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with a homemade gun in 2022. In the 15th hearing of the lay-judge trial at Nara District Court, the prosecution said that the shooting was “an extremely grave incident unprecedented in our country’s postwar history,” adding that it was a “shortsighted and selfish” crime. Later in the day, closing arguments will be made by the defense, during which Yamagami, 45, is expected to make a final statement. The verdict is scheduled to be handed down on Jan. 21, 2026. Ahead of the arguments, a representative read out a document written by Abe’s widow, Akie. In the document, she asked Yamagami to face up to what he did squarely and pay for his crime properly. The trial has focused on the severity of the sentence. The defense argues that the environment in which Yamagami was raised constitutes religious abuse, referring to the controversial religious group called the Unification Church, against which he had a grudge. Yamagami was indicted for fatally shooting Abe on July 8, 2022, when the politician was delivering a stump speech ahead of an election for the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of parliament. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]