At the court hearing, Yamagami stated: “It’s all true. There is no doubt that I did this.” The preparation for the trial lasted more than three years, which was related to the need to undergo a psychiatric evaluation, which concluded that he was fit to stand trial.
The pre-trial hearings were also prolonged, particularly due to an incident where a suspicious box was found in the courtroom. Inside were sheets with signatures calling for leniency in Yamagami's sentence. The defendant's defense challenged some of the charges, arguing that he should not be held responsible for violating gun possession laws, as his homemade shotgun did not fall under the law at the time the crime was committed — the legislation was changed only after the tragedy.
On July 8, 2022, Tetsuya Yamagami shot Shinzo Abe twice while he was speaking to supporters on the street in Nara, located in western Japan. Yamagami explained his actions as a dissatisfaction with the former prime minister's policies and an intention to kill him. Shinzo Abe served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2006 to 2007 and then from 2012 to 2020, making him the longest-serving leader in the country's history.
