By SCM REPORTER Wednesday, 21 January 2026
THE man who assassinated Japan’s longest-serving Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been sentenced to life in prison today.
Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, was handed the maximum non-capital sentence by a Japanese court following a trial that gripped the nation and exposed a web of religious scandal at the heart of the country’s government.
The cold-blooded killer previously pleaded guilty to the July 2022 murder, which saw him gun down Mr Abe in broad daylight using a “shambolic” but lethal homemade firearm.
The Deadly Ambush
Shocking footage from the day shows the moment Yamagami approached the former leader from behind as he delivered an election campaign speech in Nara.
The first shot missed, but the second blast from the double-barreled DIY weapon—constructed from pipes and duct tape—struck Mr Abe in the neck and chest.
Security guards were seen wrestling the former Navy veteran to the ground as a stunned crowd looked on in a country where gun crime is virtually non-existent.
‘Vile and Vicious’
Presiding Judge Shinichi Tanaka described the attack as “vile and extremely vicious,” rejecting the defense’s pleas for a more lenient 20-year sentence.
While Japan still uses the death penalty, prosecutors sought life imprisonment, citing the “unprecedented” nature of the crime in post-war history.
In court, Yamagami appeared calm, bowing slightly to the judge as his fate was sealed.
The case has sparked a massive political earthquake in Japan. Yamagami claimed his motive was not political but personal.
Yamagami told the court his life was “ruined” by the Unification Church (the “Moonies”), to which his mother had donated over £500,000 (100 million yen), bankrupting the family.
He targeted Mr Abe after seeing a video message the PM had sent to a church-affiliated group, believing the leader was a key supporter of the sect.
The investigation into the killing revealed deep ties between Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the church, leading to a collapse in government approval ratings and a new law to protect victims of “malicious” religious donations.
Mr Abe, who served as PM from 2006-2007 and again from 2012-2020, was 67 at the time of his death.
His widow, Akie Abe, told the court in December that she still suffers from a “significant sense of grief” over the loss of her husband.
