The man accused of killing former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pleaded guilty on Tuesday, three years after the broad daylight assassination.

Tetsuya Y., 45, admitted in court to fatally shooting Abe with a homemade gun during a 2022 campaign speech.

"Everything is true," he said in court.

He faces charges of murder and violating Japan's firearms laws.

Shooter targeted Abe over ties to Unification Church

Abe was shot with a homemade gun while holding a rally near a train station in the western city of Nara on July 8, 2022.

Tetsuya Y. was arrested directly after the shooting.

He told the police he targeted Abe over his ties to the South Korea-based Unification Church, which he blamed for his family's financial ruin.

He said his mother was pressured to make donations of around 100 million yen ($658,054; €564,366) to the Unification Church, considered a cult in Japan, which bankrupted his family.

The Japanese branch of the Unification Church acknowledged that the mother of the shooter was indeed a member, adding that Abe, while not a member, had supported the church in promoting peace.

Critics have long called the church a cult and questioned where its financing comes from.

The trial in Nara is expected to conclude in mid-December, according to Kyodo news agency.

Edited by: Kieran Burke