Pull to refresh
Logo
Daily Brief
Following Why Ranks Sign Up
Akie Abe

Akie Abe

Widow of Shinzo Abe

Appears in 1 story

Notable Quotes

"I just wanted him to stay alive." — Statement to court

"Face up to what he has done and pay for the crime of taking the life of my precious husband." — Statement after verdict, January 2026

Stories

Japan sentences Abe's assassin to life, closing a trial that reshaped church-state relations

Rule Changes

Attended trial as victim participant

Tetsuya Yamagami shot former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a campaign rally in July 2022, using a homemade gun he built after his mother's donations to the Unification Church—totaling $720,000—destroyed his family. On January 21, 2026, a Nara court sentenced him to life in prison, rejecting defense arguments that his traumatic upbringing warranted leniency.

Updated Jan 24