Shooter of former Japanese PM Abe to appeal life sentence

TOKYO -- The defense team for Tetsuya Yamagami, the man sentenced to life imprisonment for the fatal shooting of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, has decided to appeal the ruling, Japan's public broadcaster NHK reported on Tuesday.

The Nara District Court on Jan 21 handed down a life sentence for Yamagami, 45, who was convicted of murder and other charges for shooting Abe with a homemade gun in July 2022 while the former leader was delivering a campaign speech on a street in Nara.

With the deadline to file an appeal approaching on Wednesday, the defense has finalized its plan to challenge the verdict, NHK reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Yamagami admitted to murdering Abe during his trial at the Nara District Court, saying that he committed the crime due to a grudge he held against the Unification Church because his family suffered financial ruin due to his mother's large donations to the religious group, which he believed had close ties to Abe and other Japanese politicians.

Yamagami's defense had called for a prison term of no more than 20 years, arguing that he was a victim of a religious group's harm and that his "tragic" upbringing motivated him to kill Abe. Meanwhile, the Nara District Court ruled that his upbringing and circumstances could not be said to have had a decisive impact on the crime.