Tetsuya Yamagami, a 45-year-old man who assassinated Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, Shinzo Abe, with a homemade gun in 2022, has been sentenced to life imprisonment.

Mr Yamagami shot at Mr Abe during a political campaign event in the western city of Nara on July 8, 2022. 

Judge Shinichi Tanaka from the Nara district court, on Wednesday, said the fact that Mr Yamagami “shot [Abe] from behind… when he was least expecting it” showed how “despicable and extremely malicious” his actions were, AFP news agency reported.

About 700 people had lined up outside the courtroom to attend the hearing.

Mr Abe’s assassination in broad daylight in 2022 prompted investigations into the Unification Church and its questionable practices, including soliciting financially ruinous donations from its followers.

The case also exposed links to politicians from Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party and led to the resignations of several cabinet ministers.

Mr Yamagami’s lawyers had argued that he was a victim of “religious abuse”. They had also earlier demanded a jail term of not more than 20 years for their client.

His lawyers argued that Mr Yamagami resented the Unification Church because his late father’s life insurance and other assets were donated to it by his mother, amounting to 100 million yen ($633,000; £471,000).

Mr Yamagami, who spoke of his grievance against Mr Abe, who was 67 when shot, said he had initially planned to attack church executives, not Mr Abe.