Japan court to rule in trial of man charged with killing ex-PM Abe

A Japanese court will on Wednesday deliver its verdict on a man accused of fatally shooting former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, three and a half years after the assassination of the country's longest-serving premier stunned the nation.



Tetsuya Yamagami, now 45, was arrested on the spot in July 2022 after fatally firing at Abe with a homemade gun while the former prime minister was delivering a campaign speech in the western city of Nara. Abe was 67.



Although he was no longer Japan's leader at the time, Abe remained a powerful and binding force within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. His absence has left a vacuum within the party, which has since seen two leadership races and by extension, a revolving door of prime ministers.



Abe himself served as prime minister for a total of 3,188 days over two separate terms, stepping down in September 2020 citing health reasons.



His protegee Sanae Takaichi now leads Japan and the LDP, but the party's grip on power has considerably diminished.