Ruling on Abe Shooting: Misfortune Cannot Excuse Despicable Act of Violence

Editorial

15:58 JST, January 22, 2026

No matter how harsh the family environment behind the crime may have been, acts of violence to settle grudges are absolutely unforgivable. The judicial decision to impose a strict punishment on the defendant is appropriate.

In the case of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe being shot to death, the Nara District Court in a lay judge trial sentenced defendant Tetsuya Yamagami to life in prison, as requested by the prosecution, for charges including murder.

The ruling found that the defendant fatally shot Abe with a homemade gun while the latter was giving a campaign speech for a House of Councillors election in Nara City in July 2022. The defendant pleaded guilty in the first hearing of his trial last October, saying the charges against him were “all true.” The focus of the trial was how to determine the severity of the punishment.

Explaining the reasoning for the life sentence, the ruling stated that the crime was “despicable and extremely malicious, and there was a possibility that projectiles [from the gun] could have hit someone other than Mr. Abe.” Beyond the gravity of taking a life, the court seemed to have weighed heavily the danger posed by the crime that occurred among the audience of an election speech.

The 15 court hearings held until December last year revealed the circumstances of the crime through the defendant’s statements and other evidence.

When the defendant was in elementary school, his mother joined the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, also known as the Unification Church. She made donations totaling ¥100 million, leading to the loss of their peaceful life. Even after the defendant’s older brother, who resented the church, committed suicide, his mother maintained her faith in it, causing the defendant’s hatred for the church to grow.

The defendant viewed Abe as someone close to the church. In court, he stated the purpose of the incident was “revenge for the harm done to my family.” After his arrest, he was said to have told a psychiatrist he met with: “I was either going to shoot the church or shoot a politician. Abe was within reach.”

Even if there are sympathetic aspects to the defendant’s circumstances, Abe was unrelated to the defendant’s upbringing. The crime can only be called extremely irrational.

In court, the defendant apologized to Abe’s wife, Akie, and others, saying he was “deeply sorry.” He has a responsibility to sincerely confront his crime and atone for it.

The incident shed some light on issues surrounding “shukyo nisei,” a term referring to people, such as the defendant, who are children of someone who is the follower of a specific religious group. There are people like him who face financial hardship as their parents made large donations to religious groups. The government should implement relief measures to prevent such children from becoming isolated.

The shocking incident of a former prime minister being shot in front of an audience shook the “myth” of Japan being a safe country.

Copycat crimes followed, including an incident in 2023 in which an explosive device was thrown at then Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at a speech venue in Wakayama City. Abe’s incident inflicted immense anxiety on society.

A House of Representatives election is coming soon. Police must ensure thorough security measures are in place so that free speech, the foundation of democracy, is not silenced by violence.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 22, 2026)