Suspect pleads guilty to killing former Japanese prime minister Shinto Abe
The man accused of shooting dead former Japanese prime minister Shinto Abe has pleaded guilty on the opening day of his trial.
Tetsuya Yamagami's trial in Tokyo is expected to run until next January, the BBC reports.
The court heard from the 45-year-old that "everything is true", when he pleaded guilty to murder, according to local media.
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The trial of the man accused of killing former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe has begun in Tokyo. Nine
Tetsuya Yamagami, centre, was detained by a police officer after allegedly shooting dead former Japanese prime minister Shinto Abe in July 2022. Nara Shimbun/Kyodo News via AP
Yamagami was arrested immediately after allegedly shooting 67-year-old Abe with a homemade gun as the former leader was making a campaign speech in July 2022 outside a train station in Nara in western Japan.
He has denied charges over breaching weapons control laws, with his lawyer telling the court Yamagami's homemade gun does come under the legislation.
Abe, whose hawkish foreign policy made him an ally of Donald Trump during the US president's first term, was hit several times by bullets before dying in hospital.
The subsequent police investigation revealed Yamagami had developed a grudge against Abe over links between his ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the controversial Unification Church, known as the "Moonies".
He reportedly told detectives his mother had made massive donations to the organisation that bankrupted his family and ruined his life.
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US President Donald Trump is greeted by former Japanese prime minister Shinto at a Japanese golf club in May 2019. AP
Abe's grandfather, former prime minister Nobusuke Kishi, helped the church, known for its conservative values and anti-communism, take root in Japan in the 1960s over shared interests in conservative and anti-communist causes.
The revelation of cosy links between the Unification Church and Japan's politicians after Abe's slaying triggered a government inquiry.
In March this year, a court ordered it to be disbanded and scrapped its tax-exempt status.
On Tuesday, new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi hosted Trump as he made a brief visit to the important US ally.
She presented Trump with a putter owned by Abe and a golf bag signed by Japanese golfing star Hideki Matsuyama.
Abe, a keen golfer, cultivated close ties with the US during Trump's first term, with the president describing him as "one of my best friends."
- With AP
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