Man Who Assassinated Japanese Former PM Shinzo Abe Sentenced to Life in Prison

Tetsuya Yamagami said he was driven by a family grudge against a religious group linked to Abe.People offer condolences following the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, at the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association office in Taipei on July 11, 2022. Sam Yeh / AFP1/21/2026|Updated: 1/21/2026A Japanese court on Jan. 21 sentenced Tetsuya Yamagami to life in prison for the 2022 assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.Yamagami, 45, had admitted to killing Abe with a homemade gun as the former prime minister delivered a campaign speech outside a train station in Nara on July 8, 2022.Kimberly Hayek is a reporter for The Epoch Times. She covers California news and has worked as an editor and on scene at the U.S.-Mexico border during the 2018 migrant caravan crisis.Author’s Selected Articles