Shooter of ex-Japan PM Abe given life term as sought by prosecutors

NARA, Japan - The man who fatally shot former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2022 was sentenced by a court to life imprisonment on Wednesday as sought by prosecutors, in a case that shed light on the harm caused by the Unification Church.

In the ruling on Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, the Nara District Court said, "The maliciousness and the high risk of firing multiple bullets in front of a large crowd with the intent to kill is significantly more serious than in other cases," and rejected the defense counsel's argument that his unfavorable upbringing influenced him to kill Abe.