Life sentence for man who killed former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe, shot during election campaign

Tokyo (The Uttam Hindu): The man responsible for the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been sentenced to life imprisonment. The verdict was delivered by the Nara District Court. Shinzo Abe was fatally shot during an election campaign event in July 2022, an incident that shocked Japan and the world.

The accused had already confessed to the crime. He was identified as 45-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami, who admitted to opening fire on Shinzo Abe during a campaign speech in the city of Nara. According to reports citing Japan’s public broadcaster NHK, the court accepted the prosecution’s demand for a life sentence.

At the time of the attack, Shinzo Abe was addressing a gathering in western Japan’s Nara region when he was shot from behind. After being hit, he suffered cardiac arrest and was rushed to a hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

Tetsuya Yamagami was arrested at the scene immediately after the incident. Investigations revealed that he was unhappy with Abe’s political views and policies, which led him to plan the attack. Reports stated that Abe sustained severe injuries to his neck and suffered heavy bleeding in the chest area. Shinzo Abe was 67 years old at the time of his death.