The first trial of Yamagami Tetsuya, who was indicted for killing former Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo in 2022 with a homemade gun, opened on the 28th at the Nara District Court in Japan.
According to Kyodo News and others, Yamagami said in court, "It is true, I have no doubt I did it," admitting all charges including murder. For this trial, held about three years after the incident, 727 people vied for 32 gallery seats, a competition rate of about 23 to 1.
As Yamagami was arrested at the scene of the crime, the focus is expected to be on the sentence rather than guilt or innocence. The defense plans to seek leniency, saying the influence of his mother, a believer in the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (formerly the Unification Church/Family Federation), was decisive in the crime. To that end, they applied for the examination of witnesses for five people, including his mother, younger sister, and a scholar of religion.
The trial will be held up to 19 times, and the verdict is scheduled for Jan. 21 next year.
Yamagami's mother is said to have been active as a Family Federation believer since her son was in elementary school and to have donated about 100 million yen (about 950 million won), including her husband's life insurance payout. As a result, the family's finances deteriorated, and Yamagami was reportedly forced to give up going to college.
In a police interview, Yamagami said, "Our life fell apart because of the donations," and said, "Out of resentment toward the sect, I targeted former Prime Minister Abe, who had deep ties to the Family Federation."
In July 2022 in Nara, Yamagami fired a homemade gun at former Prime Minister Abe, who was campaigning for the House of Councilors election, leading to his death.