Japanese prosecutors seek life sentence for Shinzo Abe killer

Dec. 19 (Asia Today) -- Japanese prosecutors have asked the Nara District Court to sentence Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, to life in prison for the 2022 assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, opting not to seek the death penalty.

At a hearing Thursday, prosecutors condemned the killing as an attack on the rule of law, arguing that violence aimed at changing society cannot be excused regardless of motive.

In closing arguments, prosecutors cited four factors supporting a severe sentence: the brutality of the method, extensive premeditation, the magnitude of social impact and what they called the irrationality of the motive.

Prosecutors said Yamagami shot Abe from behind in July 2022 during a campaign event in Nara City using a homemade firearm. They said about 300 people were present and described the weapon's lethality as "more than 10 times" a standard firearm. They argued the attack took place in a public area near major stores and a train station and could have caused additional casualties.

Prosecutors also said Yamagami prepared for years, beginning around 2019, initially intending to kill an executive linked to the Unification Church, now known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification. They said he made Molotov cocktails, later built pipe guns, bought more than 800 parts, spent more than 590,000 yen (about $3,900) and test-built more than 10 firearms, calling the case a yearslong plan.

Despite those claims, prosecutors did not request a death sentence. Japanese media said the decision reflected debate within the prosecution, with proportionality and past sentencing precedent weighing heavily.

Prosecutors acknowledged Yamagami's difficult family circumstances but argued he had the capacity as an adult to distinguish right from wrong. They said there was no evidence Abe was directly involved in any financial harm tied to the defendant's family, calling the motive socially and logically far-fetched.

Yamagami has said his mother's large donations to the church left the family in financial distress, contributed to the family's collapse and preceded his brother's death. He told investigators he initially resented a church executive but later became angered after seeing Abe send a congratulatory message to an event held by a church-affiliated organization.

Prosecutors described Abe as Japan's longest-serving postwar prime minister, saying his killing in broad daylight sent shockwaves through society and undermined the foundations of a law-governed state.

Mainichi Shimbun reported prosecutors appeared to balance precedent in attacks on politicians while also noting that Yamagami allegedly acted alone without accomplices. The report said only two murders of current or former Diet members have occurred in postwar Japan and that killing a former prime minister was unprecedented.

Defense lawyers have argued that while the act was wrong, the defendant's motives and family background should be considered as mitigating factors. Yamagami has admitted the shooting and has spoken of hardship as the child of a religious adherent.

The Nara District Court is expected to issue a verdict and sentence at a hearing early next year.

Source: Asiat Today, Staff, December 21, 2025

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde

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