Gunman jailed for life in killing of Japan ex-PM Abe

Nara, Japan: The gunman charged with killing Japan s former prime minister Shinzo Abe was found guilty Wednesday and jailed for life, as the judge dec...

Nara, Japan: The gunman charged with killing Japan's former prime minister Shinzo Abe was found guilty Wednesday and jailed for life, as the judge declared the broad-daylight assassination "despicable and extremely malicious".

The shooting more than three years ago forced a reckoning in a country with little experience of gun violence, and ignited scrutiny of alleged ties between prominent conservative lawmakers and a secretive sect, the Unification Church.

As he handed down the sentence at a court in the city of Nara, judge Shinichi Tanaka said Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, had been "determined" to shoot Abe.

The fact he "shot him from behind and did so when (Abe) was least expecting it" points to the "despicable and extremely malicious" nature of his act, he said.

A queue of people waited Wednesday morning for tickets to enter the courtroom, highlighting intense public interest in the trial.