TOKYO: A man accused of killing Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe pled guilty Tuesday, three years after the assassination in broad daylight shocked the world.
Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, stood accused of murder and violations of arms control laws for allegedly using a handmade weapon to shoot dead Japan’s longest-serving leader as he gave a speech in July 2022.
“Everything is true,” he said in court.
Yamagami was arrested at the scene of the shooting in July 2022 after allegedly firing at Abe with a homemade gun while the former premier was giving a speech during an election campaign in the western Japanese city of Nara.
Yamagami blamed Abe for promoting the Unification Church, a religious group he held a grudge against after his mother donated to it some ¥100 million ($663,218), local media reported.
The Unification Church was founded in South Korea in 1954. It is famous for its mass weddings and counts Japanese followers as a key source of income.
Having moved through pretrial conferences, Yamagami is set to admit to murder while disputing parts of the indictment related to violations of the Firearms and Swords Control Act and Ordnance Manufacturing Act, an official at the Nara District Court said.
The shooting was followed by revelations that more than a hundred lawmakers of Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party had ties to the Unification Church, driving down public support for the ruling party, which is now led by Takaichi.
After Tuesday’s first court session, starting at 2 p.m., 17 more hearings are scheduled by year-end before a verdict on January 21.
