TOKYO: The man who assassinated former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe in 2022 has been sentenced to life in prison.

Tetsuya Yamagami pleaded guilty to fatally shooting Abe during a campaign speech in Nara, a crime that shocked Japan, a country with extremely low gun violence.

Prosecutors sought life imprisonment, calling it a grave act, while the defense argued for leniency, citing Yamagami’s claim of religious abuse linked to his mother’s financial ruin through the Unification Church.

Abe’s killing triggered nationwide scrutiny of the church’s practices and its political links, leading to investigations and ministerial resignations.