New Delhi, Jan. 21 -- A Japanese court sentenced a man who admitted assassinating former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to life imprisonment on Wednesday, according to NHK public television. The case has revealed decades of cozy ties between Japan's governing party and a controversial South Korean church.

Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, earlier pleaded guilty to killing Abe in July 2022 during his election campaign speech in the western city of Nara.

Abe, one of Japan's most influential politicians, was serving as a regular lawmaker after leaving the prime minister's job when he was killed in 2022 while campaigning in the western city of Nara. It shocked a nation with strict gun control.

Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, pleaded guilty to murder in the ...