<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The man accused of shooting dead former Japanese prime minister Shinto Abe has pleaded guilty on the opening day of his trial.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Tetsuya Yamagami's trial in Tokyo is expected to run until next January, the </span><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy5qp45y20yo" rel="" target="_blank" title="BBC "><span>BBC</span></a><span> reports.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The court heard from the 45-year-old that "everything is true", when he pleaded guilty to murder, according to local media.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>LIVE UPDATES:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/hurricane-melissa-landfall-jamaica-live-updates-most-powerful-storm-of-2025/39ea098e-c578-4dec-8d68-3a844c6d72e4" target="_blank"><strong><span>Hurricane Melissa makes landfall in Jamaica</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Yamagami was arrested immediately after allegedly shooting 67-year-old Abe with a homemade gun as the former leader was making a campaign speech in July 2022 outside a train station in Nara in western Japan.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He has denied charges over breaching weapons control laws, with his lawyer telling the court Yamagami's homemade gun does come under the legislation.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Abe, whose hawkish foreign policy made him an ally of Donald Trump during the US president's first term, was hit several times by bullets before dying in hospital.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/shinto-abe-murder-suspect-pleads-guilty/261b5a71-d714-4a79-b293-a47ef18eedf4" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The subsequent police investigation revealed Yamagami had developed a grudge against Abe over links between his ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the controversial Unification Church, known as the "Moonies".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He reportedly told detectives his mother had made massive donations to the organisation that bankrupted his family and ruined his life.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/french-first-lady-brigitte-macron-plagued-by-deep-anxiety-over-false-claims-shes-a-man-daughter-reveals/362208e1-4930-47d8-879a-a4f690901b0f" target="_blank"><strong><span>First lady plagued by 'deep anxiety' over false claims she's a man</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Abe's grandfather, former prime minister Nobusuke Kishi, helped the church, known for its conservative values and anti-communism, take root in Japan in the 1960s over shared interests in conservative and anti-communist causes.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The revelation of cosy links between the Unification Church and Japan's politicians after Abe's slaying triggered a government inquiry.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In March this year, a court ordered it to be disbanded and scrapped its tax-exempt status.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>On Tuesday, new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi hosted Trump as he made a brief visit to the important US ally.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She presented Trump with a putter owned by Abe and a golf bag signed by Japanese golfing star Hideki Matsuyama.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Abe, a keen golfer, cultivated close ties with the US during Trump's first term, with the president describing him as "one of my best friends."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span> </span><em><span>- With AP</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a 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