- Thread starter
- Staff
- #1
Dadparvar
Staff member
- Nov 11, 2016
- 10,514
- 0
- 6
The Nara district court sentenced Tetsuya Yamagami on Wednesday to life in prison following his assassination of Japan’s former Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe. He pleaded guilty to murder, having shot the retired prime minister in 2022 with a homemade gun, according to local media.
Yamagami’s defence team focused on the homemade gun, arguing that the firearm laws at the time of the offence did not apply to the type of weapon used. Presiding Judge Shinichi Tanaka disagreed and convicted Yamagami of also violating Japan’s Firearms and Swords Control Law. The defence then went on to ask for a sentence of 20 years imprisonment or less, stating that Yamagami was a victim of abuse. At the same time, the prosecution argued that many people endure a difficult upbringing without resorting to murder. The judge contemplated that the defendant approached the victim, waited for an opportunity, and then shot in public, at the risk of injuring others, before condemning the “malicious act” and sentencing him to full life imprisonment.
Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK), Japan’s national broadcaster, reported that Yamagami was targeting the retired prime minister for his alleged affiliation with the Unification Church. This church is credited by Yamagami as the reason his mother neglected him as a child. Furthermore, the defendant said the Unification Church ruined his life, as providing large donations to the cult led his family to financial crisis. It was revealed in court that Yamagami had previously commented under a now-suspended anonymous username, “@333_hill,“ highlighting his grudge against the church.
The shooting sparked a massive outcry, questioning the latest moral panic about religion in Japan’s public sphere and how the Unification church has lobbied Japan to solicit funds. Since 1980, the Unification Church has paid out over 2 billion yen in court-ordered damages and over 20 billion yen in settlement damages for illegally pressuring members into donation. The shooting would draw additional scrutiny against the church, given that the Tokyo District Court ordered the dissolution of the Japanese branch of the Unification Church in March 2025.
The post Japan court gives life sentence to former prime minister assassin appeared first on JURIST - News.
Continue reading...
Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.
Yamagami’s defence team focused on the homemade gun, arguing that the firearm laws at the time of the offence did not apply to the type of weapon used. Presiding Judge Shinichi Tanaka disagreed and convicted Yamagami of also violating Japan’s Firearms and Swords Control Law. The defence then went on to ask for a sentence of 20 years imprisonment or less, stating that Yamagami was a victim of abuse. At the same time, the prosecution argued that many people endure a difficult upbringing without resorting to murder. The judge contemplated that the defendant approached the victim, waited for an opportunity, and then shot in public, at the risk of injuring others, before condemning the “malicious act” and sentencing him to full life imprisonment.
Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK), Japan’s national broadcaster, reported that Yamagami was targeting the retired prime minister for his alleged affiliation with the Unification Church. This church is credited by Yamagami as the reason his mother neglected him as a child. Furthermore, the defendant said the Unification Church ruined his life, as providing large donations to the cult led his family to financial crisis. It was revealed in court that Yamagami had previously commented under a now-suspended anonymous username, “@333_hill,“ highlighting his grudge against the church.
The shooting sparked a massive outcry, questioning the latest moral panic about religion in Japan’s public sphere and how the Unification church has lobbied Japan to solicit funds. Since 1980, the Unification Church has paid out over 2 billion yen in court-ordered damages and over 20 billion yen in settlement damages for illegally pressuring members into donation. The shooting would draw additional scrutiny against the church, given that the Tokyo District Court ordered the dissolution of the Japanese branch of the Unification Church in March 2025.
The post Japan court gives life sentence to former prime minister assassin appeared first on JURIST - News.
Continue reading...
Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.