A Japanese court has sentenced Tetsuya Yamagami to life imprisonment for the 2022 assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe, bringing to a close a case that also cast fresh light on the relationship between Japan’s ruling party and a controversial religious organisation.
Yamagami, 45, was detained at the scene in the city of Nara after fatally shooting Abe while the former leader was delivering a campaign speech for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). During proceedings at the Nara District Court, Yamagami acknowledged responsibility for the killing, which he said was driven by personal resentment rather than political ideology.
The trial drew significant attention to the Unification Church, a South Korea–based religious movement founded in the 1950s by Sun Myung Moon. Yamagami told the court he harboured deep anger toward the group after his mother made substantial donations that depleted the family’s finances. Prosecutors said he selected Abe as his target because of the former prime minister’s public support for an event linked to organisations associated with the church.
Subsequent scrutiny following Abe’s death revealed extensive historical ties between the Unification Church and the LDP. An internal party review found that more than 100 lawmakers had some form of connection with the organisation, rooted largely in shared anti-communist positions during the Cold War era.
The fallout forced then–Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to publicly sever ties between the party and the church. In March last year, a Tokyo court ordered the dissolution of the Unification Church’s Japanese branch.
Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, remains a polarising figure at home, but was widely respected abroad for his diplomatic reach.
