Overview
- Judge Shinichi Tanaka delivered the sentence at the Nara District Court after a high‑profile proceeding that drew large public lotteries for limited seats.
- Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, admitted killing Shinzo Abe with a homemade gun during a July 8, 2022 campaign speech in Nara; prosecutors sought life imprisonment and the defense urged a term capped at about 20 years.
- Yamagami told the court he acted over resentment toward the Unification Church after his mother’s donations of roughly 100 million yen left the family in financial ruin, and he believed Abe supported the group.
- The assassination accelerated official inquiries that led the Tokyo District Court to order the church’s dissolution and removal of tax benefits, a decision the organization is appealing.
- The case spurred broader measures in Japan, including a December 2022 law targeting manipulative donation solicitations and sustained scrutiny of lawmakers’ contacts with the church.