The gunman convicted of shooting dead former prime minister Shinzo Abe in 2022 has appealed his life sentence.
Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, was found guilty two weeks ago at the Nara District Court and jailed for life for using a homemade gun to assassinate Abe during an outdoor campaign event.
“Today, I filed the motion to appeal,” court-appointed defence counsel Masaaki Furukawa said.
Furukawa said the move was “an opportunity to correct the unjust lower-court ruling”.
The lawyer declined to discuss whether Yamagami was seeking to fight the guilty verdict or reduce the sentence.
Abe’s shooting ignited scrutiny of alleged ties between prominent conservative lawmakers and a secretive sect, the Unification Church.
Yamagami’s case drew public sympathy as his defence team argued that the attack was triggered by his mother’s donations to the Church that pushed his family into bankruptcy.
Abe had spoken at events organised by some of the Church’s groups. The sect also supported his Liberal Democratic Party in elections. — AFP
