World
Man admits murdering Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe
A man on trial accused of shooting dead Japan’s former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has admitted to his murder.
“It is true that I did it,” said Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, who admitted the charges read by prosecutors, according to broadcaster NHK.
He appeared at Nara District Court in a black top and grey trousers, with his long hair tied in a ponytail.
He allegedly shot Mr Abe in July 2022 with a homemade firearm during an election speech in Japan’s western city of Nara.
Tetsuya Yamagami’s trial at Nara District Court has attracted intense media interest. Pic: Kyodo/Reuters
Yamagami held a grudge against the controversial religious movement, Unification Church, which he believed had close ties to Mr Abe and other Japanese politicians.
He told officials that massive donations his mother made to the church, which was founded in South Korea a year after the Korean War ended in 1953, caused his family’s financial collapse.
The court hearing coincided with a visit to Japan by Donald Trump, who called Shinzo Abe a “great friend of mine and a great friend of yours”.
He was the first foreign leader to meet Mr Trump after his 2016 election victory, and the pair went on to forge a close bond.
Shinzo Abe and Donald Trump, pictured during a 2017 summit, were good friends. Pic: The Yomiuri Shimbun/AP
The US president held talks with new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, a conservative protege of Mr Abe, on Tuesday.
He heaped praise on Japan’s first female leader in Tokyo, welcoming her pledge to accelerate a military buildup and signing deals on trade and rare earths.
Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister since the Second World War, is regularly mentioned by both leaders.
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The trial in the western city of Nara is set to finish in mid-December, Kyodo news agency reported.
A lawyer for Yamagami subsequently asked for any punishment to be reduced, saying the handmade gun he used did not fall within the category of handguns defined in law, NHK added.
The ‘Moonies’
The Unification Church, which has powerful political connections around the world, has faced hundreds of lawsuits in Japan.
Founded in South Korea in 1954, it is famous for its mass weddings and counts Japanese followers as a key source of income.
But some families claim it manipulates members, sometimes referred to as ‘Moonies’, into draining their savings to make donations.
The church argues that donations are part of legitimate religious activities.
Japanese members of the Unification Church. File pic: Reuters
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For decades, however, the church has largely escaped official scrutiny and maintained close links with the governing Liberal Democratic Party.
More than a hundred politicians had ties to it, driving down public support for the ruling party, which is now led by Ms Takaichi.
A Japanese court ordered that the church be dissolved in Japan in March last year – a ruling that the organisation has appealed.