Man pleads guilty to killing Japan’s former Prime Minister

Tetsuya Yamagami, the 45-year-old man accused of assassinating former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, has pleaded guilty on the first day of his trial in Tokyo, telling the court that “everything is true.” Yamagami fatally shot Abe with a homemade gun during a 2022 campaign event in Nara, an attack that shocked Japan and the world.

He told investigators he targeted Abe over his alleged ties to the Unification Church, which he blamed for bankrupting his family after his mother donated large sums of money. The assassination led to national scrutiny of the church and its political influence, prompting Japan to order its dissolution earlier this year.

Yamagami’s trial, expected to conclude in January, continues as his defense challenges the legality of the homemade weapon under Japan’s strict arms laws.