The alleged killer of former prime minister Shinzo Abe has been put on trial by
Japanese prosecutors on Friday, January 12 after a prolonged psychiatric review found him mentally fit to stand trial.
Tetsuya Yamagami had been detained immediately after the former Japanese premier was gunned down in July 2022 while he was giving a campaign speech in the western Japanese city of Nara.
According to a local media report, Tetsuya Yamagami, aged 42, had then been indicted by the Nara District Public Prosecutors Office on murder charges as well as for violating gun laws after concluding an approximately six-month psychiatric evaluation, the report said.
Reportedly, Yamagami held a grudge against Abe for promoting the infamous
Unification Church, a religious organization for impoverishing his family as it convinced
his mother to donate around 100 million yen ($774,700).
A District Court spokesman in Nara, Kenichiro Nomura has told AFP that Yamagami is
currently facing murder charges and violation of arms control laws and could face the
death penalty if convicted.
Recall that Yamagami has admitted to killing Abe and images taken at the scene of the
shooting show him holding and firing a reported homemade weapon.
