London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

0:00
0:00

Japan prosecutors indict man for ex-PM Shinzo Abe murder

Suspect Tetsuya Yamagami, 42, was indicted on murder charges and violating gun laws for alleged shooting of Shinzo Abe in July 2022.
Japanese prosecutors have indicted the man suspected of killing former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe following confirmation that he was competent to stand trial, local media outlets have reported.

Public Prosecutors Office in Nara District indicted Tetsuya Yamagami, 42, on murder charges as well as for violating gun laws following the conclusion of a psychiatric assessment, the Yomiuri newspaper and Kyodo News agency reported on Friday.

Yamagami could face the death penalty if convicted.

The 42-year-old suspect had spent months undergoing a psychiatric evaluation, which ended earlier this week with his transfer to a police station in Nara city where Abe was fatally attacked in July 2022.

Following the crime that shocked the world, Yamagami had been arrested on the spot on July 8 after he allegedly shot Abe with a handmade gun while the former premier was giving a speech at an election campaign in the western city.

The suspect reportedly held a grudge against the Unification Church and he blamed Abe for promoting the religious organisation, which he said had impoverished his family, claiming the church had persuaded his mother to donate about 100 million yen ($776,000) to its cause.

Abe was Japan’s prime minister from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020. He stepped down from the position due to health issues, according to Kyodo News.

The Unification Church was founded in South Korea in 1954 and is famous for its mass weddings, relying on its followers in Japan as a key source of income.

The killing shed light on evidence to reveal deep and longstanding relations between the church and Japan’s governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) legislators. The LDP has denied any organisational link to the church but has acknowledged that many legislators have ties to the religious group.

The approval rate for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government had fallen to record lows amid revelations about connections between the church and many LDP legislators.

Details also emerged about Yamagami’s childhood, including his mother’s alleged neglect of her children to carry out church activities, which built anger against the organisation and spurred sympathy for the murder suspect among some members of the Japanese public.

Donations of cash, clothing, food and books flooded into the Osaka detention centre where he was held during his psychiatric evaluation. An estimated 15,000 people also signed a petition calling for prosecutors to go easy on Yamagami, according to local media.

One of Yamagami’s lawyers, Masaaki Furukawa, told The Associated Press news agency on Thursday that his client was in good health during his psychiatric evaluation in Osaka when he was allowed to see only his sister and three lawyers.

Furukawa said the trial would involve a jury panel of citizens. Due to the complexity of the case, it would take at least several months before the hearing begins, he said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×