Shooter pleads guilty of murdering Japan's ex-Premier Shinzo Abe

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) - The shooter accused of murdering Japan’s longest-serving Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pleaded guilty to the charges as the trial began on Tuesday, according to local media.

On July 8, 2022, Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, shot Abe during an election event in Nara city in western Kansai province of Japan.

Yamagami used a homemade firearm to shoot at Abe, who succumbed to his injuries later that day.

He told the investigators that "he committed the crime due to a grudge he held against the Unification Church over the financial ruin caused to his family as a result of massive donations -- likely some 100 million yen ($660,000) -- that his mother made to the group,” according to Kyodo News.

The controversial church, formed in 1954 by a staunch anti-communist in South Korea, has since been dissolved in Japan, which had gained support from Abe’s grandfather, former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi.

Yamagami’s assassination of Abe exposed links between the church and lawmakers from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in Japan.

The Nara District Court is scheduled to issue the ruling on the case in January 2026.

Following Abe’s assassination, the LDP government had sought the dissolution of the religious cult in 2023, and a Japanese court ordered the dissolution in March this year.

The Unification Church is known for its mass weddings and aggressive donation solicitations.

Links between the LDP and the controversial cult have dealt the party a blow in public confidence.