Tetsuya Yamagami, the man accused of assassinating Japan’s former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, on Tuesday pleaded guilty to the 2022 killing that stunned a nation long shielded from gun violence and reverberated across the world.
Appearing at a court in Nara, the 45-year-old calmly admitted to the charges, telling the judge, “Everything is true.”
The plea marks a turning point in a case that forced Japan to confront both the vulnerability of its public figures and the hidden influence of the Unification Church, a controversial religious group with deep political ties.
Yamagami, dressed in a black T-shirt with his long hair tied back, was escorted into the courtroom by four security officers. His voice was reportedly faint as he confirmed his identity.
However, his legal team indicated they would contest certain counts, including alleged violations of Japan’s arms control laws, on the grounds that the handmade firearm used in the killing did not fit conventional weapon classifications.
A Long-Delayed Trial
Yamagami’s trial had been delayed for over a year following a 2023 security scare that forced the evacuation of the Nara District Court after a suspicious object was found — later determined to be harmless.
Central to the proceedings is whether his actions were influenced by what defense lawyers describe as “religious abuse” during childhood.
Local reports say Yamagami’s mother was a devoted follower of the Unification Church, having donated an estimated 100 million yen (about $1 million) — a move that allegedly bankrupted the family.
Yamagami is believed to have targeted Abe over the former prime minister’s perceived ties to the Church, which was founded in South Korea in 1954 by Sun Myung Moon. Members of the Church — often called “Moonies” — have long faced accusations of financial exploitation and emotional manipulation, claims the organization denies.
Political Fallout and National Reckoning
Abe’s assassination in July 2022 triggered an unprecedented political and social reckoning in Japan. Investigations revealed extensive links between the Unification Church and many lawmakers in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), leading to four ministerial resignations.
In early 2025, the Tokyo District Court ordered the dissolution of the Church’s Japanese branch, ruling that it had caused “unprecedented damage” to society through coercive fundraising and family separations.
Japan’s Tightening Gun Laws
The assassination — carried out with a homemade firearm — exposed gaps even within Japan’s famously strict gun regulations. A subsequent police inquiry found that security officers initially failed to recognize the gunfire sound and were slow to respond.
In response, lawmakers passed a sweeping arms control bill in 2024, criminalizing the sharing of online tutorials on gun-making and imposing penalties of up to one year in prison or fines for promoting firearm sales on social media.
A Nation Still Healing
Abe, who served as Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, was delivering a campaign speech when he was fatally shot at close range on July 8, 2022. His killing remains a defining tragedy in modern Japanese political history — one that continues to shape debates over faith, politics, and public safety.
Yamagami’s guilty plea brings the case one step closer to closure, but Japan’s collective reckoning with its implications — both moral and institutional — is far from over.
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