A Japanese court has sentenced Tetsuya Yamagami to life imprisonment for the 2022 assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Yamagami admitted that he shot Abe during an election campaign speech in Nara.
Yamagami was arrested at the scene and was found to have used a homemade gun. Police later recovered similar weapons from his apartment. Shinzo Abe was shot from behind at close range shortly after he began speaking. He was airlifted to the hospital but died despite emergency treatment.
Tetsuya Yamagami had pleaded guilty to murder charges at the trial’s opening last year, but how he should be punished has divided public opinion in Japan. While many see the 45-year-old as a cold-blooded murderer, some sympathise with his troubled upbringing.
Prosecutors said Yamagami deserved life imprisonment for his “grave act”. Abe’s assassination stunned the country, where there is virtually no gun crime.
.