Tokyo. A Japanese court on Wednesday sentenced the man who admitted to assassinating former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to life imprisonment, a case that has exposed decades of close ties between Japan’s ruling party and a controversial South Korean church.

Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, pleaded guilty to killing Abe in July 2022 during an election campaign speech in the western city of Nara. The shooting shocked Japan, a country with some of the world’s strictest gun control laws.

The Nara District Court delivered a guilty verdict and imposed the life sentence sought by prosecutors. Defense lawyer Takashi Fumimoto said the ruling failed to consider a request for leniency and was “regrettable,” adding that Yamagami’s legal team would discuss a possible appeal.

Abe, one of Japan’s most influential postwar politicians, was serving as a lawmaker after stepping down as prime minister when he was killed. He was Japan’s longest-serving leader, holding power for a total of nine years before leaving office in 2021.

Prosecutors said the attack was especially serious because it occurred at a crowded campaign event, posing danger to the public. Yamagami’s lawyers had sought a sentence of no more than 20 years, citing his upbringing as the child of a member of the Unification Church. Japanese law allows the death penalty for murder, but prosecutors rarely seek it unless multiple victims are killed.

Yamagami told investigators he was motivated by hatred toward the Unification Church, saying his family was financially ruined by his mother’s donations to the group. He said he decided to kill Abe after seeing a video message Abe sent to an organization affiliated with the church.

The killing triggered public scrutiny of ties between the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the church, prompting the party to distance itself. It also led to investigations that resulted in a court stripping the church’s Japanese branch of its tax-exempt status and ordering its dissolution, a decision the group has appealed.

Abe was shot on July 8, 2022, while speaking outside a train station in Nara. Video footage showed two gunshots as Abe raised his fist before collapsing. Authorities said he died shortly afterward. Yamagami was arrested at the scene.

The case also drew attention to the children of church members and helped spur legislation aimed at curbing coercive donation practices. Thousands signed petitions seeking leniency for Yamagami, while others sent support to his relatives and the detention center where he is held.