A man accused of killing former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe has pleaded guilty on the first day of his trial.

Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, told a court in the capital Tokyo that “everything is true”, according to local media.

Yamagami – also facing charges over arms control law violations – used a homemade gun to shoot Abe during a politcal campaign event in the western city of Nara in 2022.

Abe – who was known for his hawkish foreign policy and a signature economic strategy that popularly came to be known as “Abenomics” – was shot several times, and died in hospital later the same day.

Yamagami is reported to have previously told investigators he targeted Abe because he blamed the 67-year-old for allegedly promoting the Unification Church, which he said had bankrupted his mother.

He alleged the donations, said to total about 100 million yen ($660,000), were made as proof of her faith to the church, more popularly known as the “Moonies”.

Abe’s killing shone a spotlight on close links between the Liberal Democratic Party and the church, leading to the resignation of four ministers in the intervening years.

In March this year, a Tokyo court ordered the disbandment of the church, stripping it of its tax exempt status and requring it to liquidate its assets.