Guilty confession in landmark trial
On October 28, 2025, in the first session of his trial, Tetsuya Yamagami, the man accused of assassinating former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, pleaded guilty to the murder charge. He calmly acknowledged in the Nara District Court: “Everything is true.” Yamagami also faces charges for firearms and weapons-manufacturing law violations.
The crime and motive
On July 8, 2022, Abe was shot and fatally wounded by Yamagami while delivering a campaign speech in Nara City. Yamagami used a homemade firearm to carry out the attack.
Yamagami has stated that his motive was a grudge centred on his mother’s large donations (reported at about 100 million yen) to the Unification Church, which he blamed for his family’s financial ruin, and that he viewed Abe as a key supporter of the church.
Trial path ahead
The trial has been scheduled for 18 additional hearings through the end of the year, with a verdict expected on January 21, 2026. While Yamagami admitted to the murder, he is contesting some of the charges related to weapons law violations and the manufacturing of the firearm.
Impact and wider fallout
Abe’s assassination sent shockwaves through Japan, a country with very low gun-violence rates and strong political stability. The case has reignited debates about public-figure security, weapons legislation and the ties between political parties and religious organisations. Public attention is also focused on how the criminal justice process will handle issues of motive, mental competency, and whether Yamagami’s family background will weigh on sentencing.
What to watch
- Whether the court will apply the death penalty: previous major political murders in Japan have received life sentences in recent precedent.
- How the weapons-law charges (manufacturing and possession of a homemade firearm) will influence the ruling.
- How this case will affect political security measures in Japan and monitoring of extremist grievances linked to religious and political organisations.
- Whether the confession will lead to a plea deal or influence sentencing negotiations before the verdict.
