TOKYO: A Japanese court will on Wednesday (Jan 21) deliver its verdict on a man accused of fatally shooting former prime minister Shinzo Abe, three and a half years after the assassination of the country’s longest-serving premier stunned the nation.
Tetsuya Yamagami, now 45, was arrested on the spot in July 2022 after fatally firing at Abe with a homemade gun while the former prime minister was delivering a campaign speech in the western city of Nara. Abe was 67.
Although he was no longer Japan’s leader at the time, Abe remained a powerful and binding force within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. His absence has left a vacuum within the party, which has since seen two leadership races and, by extension, a revolving door of prime ministers.
Abe himself served as prime minister for a total of 3,188 days over two separate terms, stepping down in September 2020, citing health reasons.
His protege Sanae Takaichi now leads Japan and the LDP, but the party’s grip on power has considerably diminished.
Abe’s killing also brought to light a deep link between his party and the Unification Church, an organisation many consider a cult. An in-party investigation found that more than a hundred lawmakers had dealings with the group, leading many voters to shun the LDP, which has ruled Japan for most of the post-war period.
Source: CNA
