pleads guilty after shooting him in 2022 in the middle of the street

The Japanese Tetsuya Yamagami This Tuesday he pleaded guilty to murder of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the start of his trial, more than three years after the assassination during an electoral event in the streets of western Japan.

Yamagami, 45, is accused of murdering Abe with a homemade weapon, a crime that shocked the world and uncovered a scandal due to the ties of some members of the ruler Liberal Democratic Party (PLD) with the religious group known as the Unification Church or ‘Moon sect’which motivated the attack.

“I recognize that it was all my work“Yamagami responded to the arraignment, in statements broadcast by the public broadcaster NHK, although his lawyer clarified that he will dispute some minor charges, such as violating the Firearms and Swords Control Law.

The trial will last at least until mid-November and the focus is expected to be on the severity of the sentence, after the case has generated some understanding in Japanese society for the difficulties that the Unification Church caused to the family of the accused, among many others affected.

Unification Church

After the incident, Yamagami claimed that he attacked Abe because of the resentment he had for Creed, whom he accused of capturing his mother and bankrupting his family through donations.

Some theories maintain that the group’s arrival in Japan was facilitated by the former president. Nobuo Kishi, abuelo de Abeprompting Yamagami to take out his grudge on his political heir.

Following Abe’s assassination, former Japanese president Fumio Kishida began an investigation into the activities of the Unification Church, after which the Government requested to deprive the organization of the tax advantages it enjoyed as a religious organization.

In March of this year, a Japanese court ordered the group’s dissolution as a religious organization, although the Unification Church appealed the decision to the Supreme Court.

Founded in 1954 in South Korea, the group is known for its massive weddings and among the points that the Japanese Government investigated were the ‘spiritual sales’ with which it supposedly coerces its members to buy items at exorbitant prices, for which Justice has opened numerous judicial proceedings in the archipelago.

Abe’s assassination prompted many victims of the creed in Japan to come forward with their stories, especially children of members who claim to have been robbed and extorted by their parents to give their assets to the group.

In light of the information, and amid the revelation of the connections of national politics and the group, which is believed to have been buying votes for candidates, the Japanese Executive carried out a aid law for these victims.