Tetsuya Yamagami

Tetsuya Yamagami is the 45-year-old man who assassinated former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in July 2022. He used a homemade gun to shoot Abe during a political campaign rally in Nara. Yamagami pleaded guilty to the murder. He is newsworthy because he was recently sentenced to life in prison for the crime, over three years after the assassination. The sentencing has brought renewed attention to the assassination itself, the subsequent scrutiny of ties between politicians and the Unification Church (a religious group), and the rare instance of gun violence in Japan. Yamagami has also apologized to Abe's family for his actions. The case remains significant due to its impact on Japanese politics and society.