The shooter Tecuja Yamagami accused of murdering former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe confessed to his crime on Tuesday. TASR writes about it according to Reuters and AFP reports.
- Shooter Tecuja Yamagami confessed to the murder of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
- The murder took place in July 2022 during a pre-election rally in Nara.
- Yamagami is also charged with violating gun laws.
- The verdict in the trial is scheduled for January 2026.
- The shooting has increased pressure to tighten Japan’s gun laws.
“It is true that I did it,” said the accused at the first hearing at the Nara City Court. He shot Japan’s longest-serving ex-prime minister at a campaign rally in July 2022. The man’s lawyer announced that they would appeal some of the charges. Yamagami is also being prosecuted for violating gun laws.
After Tuesday’s hearing, 17 more hearings are scheduled before the end of the year. The final verdict should come on January 27, 2026. On July 8, 2022, 45-year-old Yamagami shot Abe twice from behind with a home-made weapon in the city of Nara during a campaign speech before the elections to the upper house of parliament. He later succumbed to serious injuries and heavy blood loss.
AFP reports that gun violence is rare in Japan. As a result, security personnel on the scene were unable to immediately identify the sound of the gunshot and came to Abe’s aid too late. Parliament therefore approved the tightening of gun laws the following year.
Abe was chosen by Yamagami as the target of the attack, according to his own words, because the former prime minister was connected to the Unification Church. His mother gave her large gifts, driving the family into bankruptcy.
The investigation into Abe’s murder revealed ties between the Unification Church and many conservative lawmakers in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), leading to the resignation of four ministers. In March of this year, the Tokyo District Court ordered the dissolution of the church’s Japanese branch on the grounds that it had caused “unprecedented damage” to the company. Yamagami’s trial began on the day of a visit to Japan by US President Donald Trump, who had a close relationship with Abe.
