Man Sentenced for Assassination of Former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe Appeals Life Sentence

Tokyo. Tetsuya Yamagami, convicted for the fatal shooting of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, filed an appeal on Wednesday with the Osaka High Court against the life imprisonment sentence handed down last month. His lawyers have challenged the ruling of the Nara District Court.

The appeal was registered after discussions with the defendant, seeking to overturn the lower court's decision, said Masaaki Furukawa, the lead defense lawyer for the 45-year-old Yamagami, though he did not provide further details. The district court had sentenced Yamagami to life imprisonment on January 21, as demanded by the prosecution. However, the defense lawyers had requested a fixed-term prison sentence.

The trial was conducted under the 'lay judge' system. Yamagami admitted to shooting Abe with a homemade gun during an election speech in Nara city on July 8, 2022. According to the defense team, Yamagami's family was financially ruined after his mother donated approximately 100 million yen to the Unification Church. Yamagami told the court he believed Abe was at the center of the religious group's political influence.

His lawyers argued that Yamagami was a victim of religious abuse and requested a sentence of no more than 20 years. While the court acknowledged his difficult childhood, it ruled that the decision and execution of the murder constituted a serious leap, noting that Abe was not at fault. The court deemed the risky and malicious act of shooting into a crowd extremely serious.

This incident intensified the government investigation into the controversial fundraising practices of the Unification Church, and the Tokyo District Court ordered the church's dissolution. The church has appealed against this order, and the Tokyo High Court is scheduled to deliver its verdict on March 4.