https://www.jiji.com/jc/article?k=2026012100148&g=soc
　On the 21st, the Nara District Court (Judge Shinichi Tanaka , presiding ) handed down a verdict to Tetsuya Yamagami (45), who was charged with murder and other crimes for allegedly killing former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with a homemade gun while he was delivering a campaign speech for the 2022 House of Councillors election in Nara City. The prosecution had sought a life sentence.
　The defendant has admitted to murder, and the severity of the sentence was the biggest point of contention. The defense argued that the defendant's unfortunate upbringing, connected to the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (formerly the Unification Church) , constituted "religious abuse," and that the maximum sentence should be limited to 20 years in prison. They also argued that the homemade gun the defendant had made did not fall under the category of "handgun, etc." under the Swords and Firearms Control Law.
　In their closing argument in December last year, the prosecution condemned the crime as "an extremely serious crime without precedent in Japan's postwar history," arguing that the defendant's upbringing had only a limited influence on his decision to commit the crime, and stated, "Resorting to violent means to inflict damage on a specific group is absolutely unacceptable in a country governed by the rule of law, and criminal responsibility should not be reduced."
　Meanwhile, in their closing arguments, the defense emphasized that the defendant felt an "intense sense of crisis and despair" after watching a video message sent by Abe to organizations affiliated with the cult, and argued that "this crime was committed out of the despair of someone who had lost his future."
　During the trial, which began in October last year and lasted for about three months, the defendant's mother and sister appeared as witnesses for the defense. During questioning of the defendant five times, the defendant said, "I thought that getting revenge (on the cult) was the meaning of my life," and that targeting Abe was "a mistake."
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11 Comments
>arguing that the defendant’s upbringing had only a limited influence on his decision to commit the crime
Man that was the only SOLE REASON he had to take revenge.
The corruption amongst Japanese prosecutors solely due to LDP is insane!!
He lost his family members, his mother is also responsible for what happened to Yamagami. This is really sad.
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is this seen as a lesser sentence? I was sort of expecting the death-penalty
Wow
Since the assassination:
7 MPs were dismissed from cabinet for ties to UC
1 MP resigned from cabinet for ties to UC
PM promised to cut ties with UC
UC lost its tax-exempt status
UC in Japan was ordered dissolved
The Act on the Prevention of Malicious Donation Solicitations by Organizations enacted
The head of the Unification Church, Han Hak-ja was arrested for bribing the First Lady of South Korea
Everyone from the PM to the public to the Kokkai agreed this guy had the correct issue at heart even if the way he brought it to the public’s attention was wrong. It’s highly likely and most probable that without his extreme action, none of this would have happened. He ought to be pardoned or have his sentence commuted after several years.
I feel very sorry for this man. His punishment is unjustifiably harsh. Meanwhile, the hypocritical monsters of Unification Church are continuing their activities in other countries.
For example, leaders of the Unification Church in Russia strongly recommend making monthly donations equalling 30% of one’s income, rather than 10%.
Damn! If killing an official would help to shut down the Unification Church in Russia, I would consider doing it.
I don’t really understand some comments crying over the harsh sentence this guy just got. Didn’t he kill a man? Or I missed something?
It’s crazy how his mother would give away the money meant for her children’s upbringing and education to a fkin cult.
In the past the French had the guillotine for people of high status to be killed if corrupt. This was just another form of it in modern times which is illegal to do. The reason America have the rights to bear arms is due to politics. If they become corrupt and decide to govern in a way that people have no freedom or whatever, they are able to fight back instead of getting massacred, arrested, and controlled like pawns. In other countries it doesn’t exist but there are some people out there who put matters into their own hands to get rid of the corrupt such as him and Luigi who are both being set as an example to us commoners to not dare do such a thing or else this will happen to you too.
There’s a whole ass manga that used his case as the basis, but switched over to fighting yakuza
Okay, but seriously, what about the Unification Church scumbags and those politicians in league with that shit? I’m legit more concerned about that.