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Tokyo, January 21 (IANS): A Japanese court on Wednesday sentenced the man charged with the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2022 to life in prison, terming the shooting using a homemade gun with adequate lethal power "vile and extremely vicious," local media reported.
The Nara District Court sentenced Tetsuya Yamagami (45) to life in prison as prosecutors had demanded.
Yamagami admitted to killing Abe using a homemade firearm while the former Japanese PM was delivering a speech in Japan's Nara.
During the court proceedings, Yamagami's defence counsel stated that his prison term should not be more than 20 years and claimed that Yamagami was a victim of harm caused by a religious group and that his "tragic" upbringing motivated him to shoot Abe, Japan's Kyodo News reported.
Tetsuya Yamagami said he had a grudge against the Unification Church as his family faced financial problems due to his mother's donations to the religious group, with the payout of 100 million yen (USD 633,000). The defendant said he believed Abe was "at the centre of the Unification Church's political involvement" in Japan.
The court found Yamagami guilty of a murder charge and violating the gun discharge provision stipulated in the Firearms and Swords Control Law. The defence team contended that the homemade firearm of Yamagami was not covered under the law at the time of the incident.
As the case brought focus on the Unification Church's solicitation of donations from members, the Japanese government initiated a probe, resulting in the Tokyo District Court issuing an order for the church to be dissolved and stripped of its tax benefits as a religious corporation. In 2022, a law was implemented to regulate manipulative fundraising methods used by organisations, as the suffering of children of Unification Church members, referred to as "second-generation" followers, gained public attention.
Shinzo Abe, Japan's longest-serving leader, died at the age of 67 after being shot while delivering a stump speech in Nara in 2022.
He was born into a prominent political family and served as a secretary for his father, former Foreign Minister Shintaro Abe, before being elected to the House of Representatives in 1993. He served as Japan's PM between 2006 and 2007 and assumed office again in 2012.
After nearly eight years, he stepped down from the post after facing health problems.
