By Blessing Nweke
Japan is preparing for the sentencing of Tetsuya Yamagami, the man who assassinated former prime minister Shinzo Abe in 2022, in a case that has continued to shock the nation and expose deep social and political fault lines. The 45-year-old, who pleaded guilty at the opening of his trial, is set to receive his punishment on Wednesday, with prosecutors seeking life imprisonment for what they described as a “grave act” against the state.
Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister and one of its most recognisable political figures, was shot dead while delivering a campaign speech in the western city of Nara. The killing stunned a country known for its strict gun laws and extremely low levels of violent crime, prompting global condemnation and national mourning.
Yet as the verdict approaches, public opinion remains split. While many view Yamagami as a cold-blooded murderer, others see him as a product of long-term hardship and what his defence team calls “religious abuse.” Lawyers have urged the court to limit his sentence to no more than 20 years, arguing that his life was upended by his mother’s devotion to the Unification Church, which allegedly led to the loss of family assets worth about 100 million yen.
Yamagami told the court that he developed a grudge against Abe after seeing the former leader appear in a video message linked to the church, though he admitted Abe was not his original target. His testimony, and the emotional accounts from his sister, underscored the family’s financial and psychological distress.
The trial also reignited scrutiny of the Unification Church’s practices and its historical ties to Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, leading to investigations, cabinet resignations and the revocation of the church’s religious status last year.
As Abe’s widow, Akie, told the court, the sorrow of her loss “will never be relieved.” Whether Yamagami’s troubled past will temper his punishment now rests with the judges, as Japan reflects on how personal tragedy, institutional failure and political power collided with devastating consequences.
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