Tokyo [Japan], January 22 (HBTV): A Japanese court has sentenced Tetsuya Yamagami, the man who fatally shot former prime minister Shinzo Abe in 2022, to life imprisonment, Al Jazeera reported.
Yamagami, 45, had admitted to killing Abe in a crime that shocked Japan and drew global attention. Prosecutors sought a life sentence, describing the assassination as ‘unprecedented in our post-war history’ and citing its ‘extremely serious consequences’ for society. Defence lawyers had argued for a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The killing took place while Abe, 67, was campaigning in the western region of Nara, where Yamagami opened fire at close range. Abe was shot from behind minutes after beginning his speech. He was airlifted to hospital but was pronounced dead despite emergency treatment, including massive blood transfusions.
Following the attack, the head of the Nara prefectural police acknowledged shortcomings in Abe’s security arrangements. ‘I believe it is undeniable that there were problems with the guarding and safety measures for former prime minister Abe. The urgent matter is for us to conduct a thorough investigation to clarify what happened,’ Al Jazeera quoted Nara police chief Tomoaki Onizuka as saying.
Japan, which is considered one of the safest countries in the world and has strict gun laws, was shaken by the assassination. Police arrested Yamagami at the scene and said he had used a homemade firearm measuring about 40 cm in length. Similar weapons and his personal computer were later seized from his apartment.
According to police, Yamagami cooperated during questioning and admitted to planning the attack, claiming he believed rumours about Abe’s connection to a certain organisation, which authorities did not identify.
(ANI)