Abe Shooting Witness Expresses Anger, Sorrow; Sato Recounts Seeing Murder at Second Hearing for Suspect Yamagami

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:55 JST, October 30, 2025

NARA — House of Councillors lawmaker Kei Sato expressed his deep anger and sorrow over the 2022 fatal shooting of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe when he testified as a witness at the trial of suspect Tetsuya Yamagami.

Abe was shot while delivering a stump speech on behalf of Sato, who was then running for reelection as a member of the upper house.

The second hearing of the trial of Yamagami, 45, an unemployed man charged with Abe’s murder, was held Wednesday at the Nara District Court in Nara Prefecture.

“Elections are the foundation of democracy. We should not tolerate acts that silence speech through violence,” stated Sato, who was standing next to Abe at the time of the incident, in his testimony as a witness for the prosecution.

According to the indictment, Yamagami shot and killed Abe at around noon on July 8, 2022, on a street in front of Kintetsu Yamato-Saidaiji Station in Nara. The shooting occurred as Abe was delivering a campaign speech on behalf of Sato, whose candidacy was endorsed by the LDP.

Yamagami admitted to the charges at the first hearing on Tuesday.

Sato described the moment, stating that he twice heard “a sound I had never experienced before.” He explained that when the first shot happened, he went into a crouching position, and after the second he turned around and saw Abe collapsed on the ground with his eyes open.

He called out “Prime Minister, Prime Minister” but received no response, and realized “at first glance that [Abe] was in very bad condition,” Sato said.

“I was there, weeping as my anger and sadness mixed together. So many people could have been in danger,” he continued.

Sato, who saw Abe’s body face to face at the hospital, recalled: “He lost his life because of me. I felt deeply sorry for everyone who admired him.”

Before witnesses were examined, the prosecutors presented its evidence, explaining the contents of investigative reports and other documents.

The prosecutors revealed that Yamagami had headed toward an early polling station for the election inside a commercial facility near the scene about an hour and 15 minutes before the incident, and that he had searched online for terms like “homemade gun” and “pipe gun” on the internet prior to the incident.