Overview
- Court-appointed counsel Masaaki Furukawa filed the appeal on Feb. 4, moving the case to the Osaka High Court with no timetable yet for hearings.
- The Nara District Court on Jan. 21 convicted the 45-year-old and imposed life imprisonment, in line with prosecutors’ request.
- During the trial, Yamagami admitted shooting Shinzo Abe with a homemade gun and said he acted over a grudge tied to his mother's large donations to the Unification Church.
- The defence sought a fixed-term sentence of 20 years or less citing his upbringing, but the court rejected mitigation and also ruled his homemade weapon violated firearms laws.
- Domestic reports say the filing came on the deadline after lawyers persuaded Yamagami to proceed, and the defence has not said whether it will challenge the verdict or only the sentence.