Mother of Abe Shooter Yamagami Apologizes in Court

From Jiji

November 13 2025

NARA – The mother of Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, who is charged with the 2022 murder of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Nara, western Japan, apologized for the crime committed by her second son as she appeared in court as a defense witness. 
   “I sincerely apologize from the bottom of my heart for the terrible crime committed by my second son, Tetsuya,” said the mother, a follower of the Unification Church, at the beginning of her testimony at the seventh hearing of his lay-judge trial at Nara District Court.
   Regarding her reason for making donations totaling more than 100 million yen to the controversial religious group, she said, “I thought it would save my elder son’s life.”
   According to the defense, the defendant has refused to meet with his mother, making this their first encounter since he fatally shot Abe with a homemade gun. A shield board was placed between the mother and the spectators, making it impossible to see her facial expression.
   According to her testimony, the mother joined the group in August 1991. She was persuaded by a follower who said, “You should look at your family tree.” When she visited a facility of the group, she was told that repeated misfortunes, such as her husband’s suicide and the serious illness of the defendant’s elder brother, were due to “humanity’s corruption making God’s salvation ineffective.”