The man accused of killing former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will go on trial today.
Abe's death shocked the world because Japan is known for being a peaceful country with little political violence.
The talks began on the same day that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and United States President Donald Trump held a summit.
The accused, Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, was arrested at the scene in July 2022 after allegedly shooting former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with a homemade weapon while he was speaking at an election campaign rally in Nara, western Japan.
Yamagami reportedly blamed Abe for promoting the Unification Church, a religious group that became the target of his anger after his mother donated about 100 million yen (RM2.79 million) to the group.
The Unification Church, founded in South Korea in 1954, is known for mass weddings and has a large following in Japan, which is the group's main source of income.
After several pretrial sessions, Yamagami is expected to confess to killing Abe but will contest charges related to violations of the Firearms and Swords Control Act and the Weapons Manufacturing Act, according to a Nara District Court official.
The incident also revealed that more than 100 members of parliament from Abe's Liberal Democratic Party have ties to the Unification Church, damaging support for the ruling party now led by Takaichi.
