Japanese court set to sentence man who admitted killing former leader Abe

TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese court on Wednesday will sentence a man who’s admitted assassinating former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a case that revealed decades of cozy ties between Japan’s governing party and a controversial South Korean church.

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.