Suspect pleads guilty in assassination of former Japanese premier Abe
More than three years after the shock death of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe by assassination the trial of his accused killer has started. The trial started with a surpise: the suspect has pleaded guilty.
Tokyo (dpa) - The man accused of assassinating former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe pleaded guilty at the start of his trial on Tuesday. According to Japanese media, a verdict is expected in January.
Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, is accused of shooting Japan's longest-serving post-war prime minister with a homemade firearm during an election campaign speech in 2022.
Yamagami reportedly told investigators that he acted out of hatred for the controversial Unification Church, which was founded in South Korea in 1954 by staunch anti-communist Sun Myung Moon, and supported in Japan by Abe's grandfather, former prime minister Nobusuke Kishi. Yamagami's mother had donated large sums of money to the religious organization, which had left the family in financial ruin.
Abe's assassination brought to light the connections between the Unification Church and members of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Media reports say Yamagami denied that he had acted out of resentment towards Abe's political views during questioning after his arrest. At the time, it was reported that he had not originally targeted the right-wing politician, but a leader of the Unification Church.
The trial has attracted considerable attention in Japan. More than 700 people lined up outside the Nara District Court at its opening to get one of the 32 public seats in the courtroom. The tickets were allocated by lottery.