Shinzo Abe’s Shooter Expected to Plead Guilty in Court on Tues.

Tokyo, Oct. 27 (Jiji Press)–Tetsuya Yamagami is expected to plead guilty to murdering former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the first hearing of his trial at Nara District Court on Tuesday, more than three years after the fatal shooting in the western city of Nara in July 2022. The defense plans to claim that the damage Yamagami suffered from the controversial Unification Church religious group was behind the crime. On the other hand, the prosecution is expected to argue that the influence of the group on the incident should not be exaggerated and that the viciousness of the crime itself should be emphasized. The focus will be on the severity of the punishment for the 45-year-old defendant. The trial is scheduled to be concluded on Dec. 18. The verdict is expected to be handed down on Jan. 21 next year. According to the indictment, Yamagami fired a handmade gun twice at Abe, who was giving a stump speech in Nara on July 8, 2022, ahead of the House of Councillors election. The former prime minister died from blood loss due to damage to the right and left subclavian arteries. Yamagami is believed to have targeted Abe due to suspicions of ties between the former prime minister and the Unification Church. According to sources familiar with his circumstances, Yamagami’s father committed suicide when he was 4 years old. After that, his mother joined the Unification Church and donated about 100 million yen to the group, resulting in her bankruptcy. Yamagami once attempted suicide to give up going to university and provide a life insurance payout to his brother and sister, who were struggling to make ends meet, the sources said. His mother and sister are expected to appear in court to testify. A religion scholar and a lawyer from the National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales have also been called as witnesses. They are expected to give testimony on the religious group’s sales practices and the damage suffered by followers who made large donations. Those testifying as witnesses for the prosecution will include an Upper House lawmaker who was at the shooting scene, a police officer who was involved in the guarding of Abe, and another police official who examined the gun made by Yamagami. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]