The mother of Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, who is charged with the 2022 murder of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Nara, apologized for the crime committed by her second son as she appeared in court as a defense witness.
"I sincerely apologize from the bottom of my heart for the terrible crime committed by my second son, Tetsuya," said the mother, a follower of the Unification Church, at the beginning of her testimony at the seventh hearing of his lay-judge trial at Nara District Court.
Regarding her reason for making donations totaling more than ¥100 million to the controversial religious group, she said, "I thought it would save my elder son's life."
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