Widow of Slain Former PM Shinzo Abe Appears in Court at Trial of Husband’s Shooter

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:16 JST, December 3, 2025

NARA — Akie Abe, the widow of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, appeared in court for the first time on Wednesday at the trial of the man charged with fatally shooting her husband.

Abe appeared in the 13th hearing of the trial for Tetsuya Yamagami, who is charged with shooting the former prime minister while he was giving a speech in Nara on July 8, 2022, just days before an upper house election. The hearing was held at the Nara District Court.

Wearing a black jacket, Abe bowed before entering the courtroom. She looked nervous as she took a seat on the prosecutors’ side. Yamagami, 45, who was already seated on the defendant’s side, did not appear to change his facial expression when looking at her.

In previous hearings, Abe had been represented by a lawyer. She appeared at Wednesday’s hearing under a system for victims or bereaved families in cases of murder and other serious crimes, in which they can directly question to defendants or express opinions on the sentences to be given to them.