A man accused of fatally shooting former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe admitted to murder on Tuesday in the first hearing of the case, media said, three years after the assassination of Japan's longest-serving premier stunned the nation.
Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, was arrested at the scene of the shooting in July 2022 after allegedly firing at Abe with a homemade gun while the former premier was giving a speech during an election campaign in the western city of Nara.
"It is true that I did it," Yamagami, who appeared calm in a black sweatshirt and grey trousers with grown-out hair tied at the back, told the court, public broadcaster NHK reported.
A lawyer for Yamagami subsequently asked for any punishment to be reduced, saying the handmade gun he used did not fall within the category of handguns defined by Japan's Firearms and Swords Control Act, NHK added.
The high-profile trial opened on the day of a summit meeting of two of Abe's former allies, incumbent Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and visiting U.S. President Donald Trump.
"He was a great friend of mine and a great friend of yours," Trump said as he shook hands with Japan's first female prime minister.
Abe was the first foreign leader to meet Trump after his 2016 election victory and the pair went on to forge a close bond over several rounds of golf in the United States and Japan.
Yamagami blamed Abe for promoting the Unification Church, a religious group against which he held a grudge after his mother donated some 100 million yen ($660,000) to it, domestic media have said.
Founded in South Korea in 1954, the Unification Church is famous for its mass weddings and counts Japanese followers as a key source of income.
The shooting was followed by revelations that more than a hundred lawmakers of Abe's Liberal Democratic Party had ties to it, driving down public support for the ruling party, which is now led by Takaichi.
After Tuesday's first court session, up to 17 more hearings are set by year-end, before a verdict is handed down on 21 January.
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Tehran residents walk past the ruins of buildings destroyed by U.S.-Israeli airstrikes. Meanwhile, groups of people gather on the streets of the Iranian capital holding flags of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has told Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that Ankara is ready to help reinforce the ceasefire between Pakistan and Afghanistan, as clashes between the two neighbours continue for a sixth consecutive day.
U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. military has enough stockpiled weapons to fight wars "forever"; in a social media post late on Monday. The remarks came hours before conflict in Iran and the Middle East entered its fourth day.
U.S. first lady, Melania Trump chaired a UN Security Council meeting on children and education in conflict on Monday (2 March), a move criticised by Iran as hypocritical following U.S. and Israeli strikes that triggered a UN warning about risks to children.
A torpedo from a U.S. submarine has sunk an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka, U.S. Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth told reporters. The Sri Lankan navy carried out a rescue operation for dozens of sailors in the wake of the strike.
The U.S. embassy in Riyadh was hit by two drones resulting in a limited fire and some material damage, the kingdom's defence ministry said in a post on X on Tuesday, citing an initial assessment.
The U.S.-Iran crisis has entered its third day, with further strikes reported across the Middle East and the death toll rising. Oil prices have surged to levels last seen during the Covid-19 pandemic, raising fears of economic disruption and higher prices worldwide.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the United States is making gains in its conflict with Iran after a key Iranian naval target was destroyed, confirming that the strike was carried out by a U.S. submarine off the coast of Sri Lanka. Rescue efforts are now under way for the ship’s crew.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 4th of February, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Strikes across the Middle East are intensifying, fuelling travel disruption, driving up global energy prices and forcing diplomatic missions to shut their doors.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said the United States has a “virtually unlimited supply” of munitions and is capable of sustaining military action indefinitely, as the conflict with Iran entered its fourth day.
The United Nations has called for an investigation into a deadly attack on a girls’ primary school in Iran, which Iranian officials say has killed more than 100 children. The U.S. has said its forces “would not” deliberately target a school.
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