'Everything is true': Shinzo Abe's killer pleads guilty to assassination

Tetsuya Yamagami, the man accused of assassinating former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, formally pleaded guilty to all charges in court, three years after the shocking crime that stunned the world.

Appearing before the Nara District Court, 45-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami, who is charged with murder and violating Japan’s gun control laws, entered a guilty plea on Tuesday. When asked about the charges, Yamagami admitted: “Everything is true.”

Abe was fatally shot using a handmade firearm on July 8, 2022, while giving a campaign speech near Yamato-Saidaiji Station in Nara City.

Focus shifts to the defence and Unification Church ties

Yamagami’s legal team is expected to seek leniency, arguing that his actions were driven by deep resentment and emotional/financial distress caused by his mother’s involvement with the Unification Church (formally the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification).

Yamagami blamed the organisation for bankrupting his family through aggressive fundraising.

While prosecutors maintain that Yamagami was fully aware of his actions, the defence will aim to prove his mental state was severely affected by these external circumstances.

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Political fallout continues

The assassination, which occurred in a country with extremely low rates of gun violence, triggered a political reckoning in Japan.

It exposed widespread, long-standing ties between the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Unification Church, severely damaging public trust and contributing to political instability.

The high-profile trial is expected to span 18 hearings, with a verdict anticipated on January 21, 2026.