Tokyo, 21 January 2026 (dpa/MIA) - A Japanese court on Wednesday sentenced the man accused of assassinating former prime minister Shinzo Abe to life in prison.

Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, had admitted shooting Japan's longest-serving post-war prime minister with a homemade firearm during an election campaign speech in July 2022. Abe's violent death caused worldwide shock.

Yamagami was overpowered and arrested in front of cameras after the killing.

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.

Photo: dpa