Former Japanese Prime Minister’s Accused Assassin Pleads Guilty in Japan as Donald Trump Meets New Prime Minister

The man accused of assassinating former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pleaded guilty on Tuesday, the same day President Donald Trump visited Japan and met with the country’s new leader, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, as reported by Fox News.

Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, appeared at the Nara District Court, where he admitted to shooting Abe in 2022 during a campaign speech.

“It is all true. There is no doubt that I have done all this,” Yamagami told the judge, according to The Japan Times. He added that he would consult with his attorneys on legal matters.

MAN WHO KILLED FORMER JAPAN PM SHINZO ABE PLEADS GUILTY IN FIRST TRIAL

Tetsuya Yamagami, accused of assassinating former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with a homemade gun during a 2022 campaign speech, has pleaded guilty to murder.

The 45-year-old admitted to the killing at… pic.twitter.com/71fLiWCIwY

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Prosecutors allege Yamagami used a homemade firearm to kill Abe because he held a grudge against the Unification Church, which he believed was connected to the late leader and other Japanese politicians.

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Yamagami’s mother had reportedly donated large sums to the church, leading to the family’s financial ruin.

While Yamagami acknowledged his role in the killing, his defense team disputed parts of the indictment, arguing that the homemade weapon used in the shooting did not meet the legal definition of a firearm under Japanese law at the time.

Three years after the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, his accused killer admits to the crime in court.

Tetsuya Yamagami allegedly shot Abe with a homemade gun during a 2022 campaign speech in Nara.

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The law was amended following Abe’s assassination. The trial, being held in Nara, is expected to conclude by mid-December, according to Japan’s Kyodo News agency.

Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister since World War II, was 67 when he was fatally shot during a campaign event in July 2022. His death shocked the country and the world.

President Trump, who was in office during much of Abe’s tenure, released a statement at the time calling the news “really bad for the world.”

“Few people know what a great man and leader Shinzo Abe was, but history will teach them and be kind,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in 2022.

“He was a unifier like no other, but above all, he was a man who loved and cherished his magnificent country, Japan. Shinzo Abe will be greatly missed. There will never be another like him.”

Trump arrived in Tokyo on Monday for meetings with Prime Minister Takaichi, who took office earlier this month after the resignation of Shigeru Ishiba.

Takaichi, 64, is Japan’s first female prime minister and a longtime ally of Abe’s policies, including efforts to revise Japan’s pacifist constitution and strengthen its national defense.

During their joint appearance, Trump praised Takaichi as “a great ally and friend of Shinzo Abe, who was my friend.” He described the U.S.–Japan partnership as entering a “golden age” and promised strong cooperation on trade, security, and defense.

“Anything you want, any favors you need, anything… to help Japan,” Trump told her, according to the BBC.

The two leaders signed new trade and rare earths agreements aimed at deepening economic and strategic ties between the nations.

Speaking aboard the USS George Washington at Japan’s Yokosuka Naval Base, Trump announced that “the first batch of missiles for Japan’s F-35 fighter jets will arrive this week.”

Takaichi said Japan was “committed to fundamentally reinforcing its defense capability” and “ready to contribute even more proactively to peace and stability in the region.” Trump called the U.S.–Japan alliance “one of the most remarkable relationships in the entire world.”

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