Yamagami Trial and the Misjudged Act of Giving

What the soon upcoming Yamagami trial reveals about faith, forgiveness, and the forgotten purpose of religious giving

On 15^th October 2025, the South Korean daily Segye Ilbo religion correspondent Jeong Seong-su (정성수) published a column which in English would be titled “Tetsuya Yamagami and the True Meaning of Offerings”.

See also Buddhist head: “Donations as Spiritual Training”

See also “Media Deliberately Killed 2 Birds with 1 Stone”

See also Outrage: Abe Killing Called “Socially Justified”

See also Murder of Abe Was Terrorism ‒ Trial Must Say So

See also Politics Fueled Japan’s Attack on Federation

See also Yamagami Trial: Peril of Romanticizing Terror

See also Dissolution: Members’ Voices Ignored by Courts

The article opens with,

“The first trial of Tetsuya Yamagami (山上徹也), accused of assassinating former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (安倍晋三) in July 2022, is scheduled to open later this month. Yamagami’s defense team is reportedly expected to argue that he was a ‘victim of religious abuse’.”

Jeong points out that the prosecution most likely will contend that the heinous act of terror “cannot be justified on religious grounds”.

The article describes the background of the case. According to Japanese media reports and court documents, Yamagami’s mother had made large donations to the Unification Church, now called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification. He blamed this for his family’s financial problems. In his police testimony, he described harboring resentment toward the group and toward Abe, whom he believed had connections to it. Jeong cautions readers against viewing Yamagami’s act as a justified or understandable form of retribution.

Jeong describes how public anger toward certain religious groups has grown since the Abe assassination. Yet he frames the current climate in Japan as one of moral confusion, in which the original, spiritual purpose of offerings has been lost or distorted. Jeong’s central question is not legal or political but theological: What does it mean to give?

To answer this, Jeong draws on a broad comparative perspective. He references both Christian and Buddhist teachings, positioning generosity as a universal spiritual discipline rather than a sectarian obligation. From the Christian Bible he cites two well-known passages: Jesus’ praise of the poor widow who gave two small coins – “all she had to live on” – and the Apostle Paul’s injunction that giving should be voluntary and cheerful, not forced as “God loves a cheerful giver”.

From Buddhist scripture, the writer invokes a scripture emphasizing that even a small act of giving, if performed sincerely, yields immeasurable merit. Across these traditions, Jeong identifies a common moral thread: that offerings are meaningful not for their monetary size but for the intention and sincerity behind them.

The column also engages implicitly with the public debate surrounding religious donations in Japan and South Korea. In the years since the Abe assassination, many news outlets have examined the relationship between faith organizations and money, often casting suspicion on large-scale contributions or “devotional” giving. Jeong writes that it is important to understand what is often the “original intent” behind large donations,

“Properly understood, offerings and almsgiving (布施 / boshi) are channels of salvation that build healthy communities, help the poor, and spread peace throughout the world. Some even dedicate their entire fortune to a cause greater than themselves.”

Jeong does not deny the possibility of abuse, but he warns against generalizing individual excesses to all religious activity. To do so, he suggests, risks turning justified concern into indiscriminate prejudice. For him, the more constructive response is to pursue transparency within religious institutions while recovering the spiritual essence of giving as an act of love, gratitude, and faith.

The Segye Ilbo piece decribes how – throughout the Bible and the history of the Christian Church – there are countless stories that reveal the grace found in giving.

In the Old Testament, the widow of Zarephath offered her final meal to the prophet Elijah and, in return, received blessings that never ran dry.

In the New Testament, Barnabas sold his land and placed the proceeds at the apostles’ feet, earning the confidence and respect of the early Christian community.

Centuries later, in 19th-century England, George Müller, a humble pastor, ran orphanages without ever asking directly for donations – yet provision came unfailingly whenever it was needed. His life stands as a testament to the mystery of faith answered through tangible response.

Many believers likewise recount that even in times of struggle, after giving with sincerity, they have encountered unexpected grace – a new job, restored health, or blessings upon their families.

Though such acts of generosity may seem like loss in the moment, they often return as blessings, whether sooner or later, illustrating a timeless cycle of faith and divine reward that spans generations.

Yamagami’s resentment may be partially understandable, yet a true grasp of the meaning of offerings reveals the error in judging his mother’s donations so narrowly. Offerings are not products of coercion or unthinking devotion, but expressions of sincere faith and love. They belong to the realm of the spirit, not mere human calculation, and should therefore be viewed through the lens of belief rather than material value. To reduce them to financial transactions or misguided loyalty is to overlook their deeper purpose – the personal and voluntary act of giving that connects believers to the divine and to one another.

Jeong’s column also speaks to a wider social tension in East Asia, where modern secular values often collide with traditional religious practices. His reminder that offerings are not “coercion or blind obedience” but “expressions of faith and love” challenges both critics who see all large donations as manipulation and believers who might confuse financial sacrifice with spiritual merit. In doing so, he restores moral complexity to a debate that too often oscillates between accusation and defense.

Ultimately, Jeong Seong-su’s essay is less about one man’s crime than about the fragility of trust between religion and society. By returning to scriptural and philosophical sources, he suggests that trust can be rebuilt only when faith communities embody sincerity and when the public approaches religion with fairness. In a media landscape quick to conflate scandal with essence, Jeong’s call for balance and compassion offers a quietly persuasive alternative – a reminder that even amid tragedy, the deeper meaning of faith remains the pursuit of understanding and peace.

See also Buddhist head: “Donations as Spiritual Training”

See also “Media Deliberately Killed 2 Birds with 1 Stone”

See also Outrage: Abe Killing Called “Socially Justified”

See also Murder of Abe Was Terrorism ‒ Trial Must Say So

See also Politics Fueled Japan’s Attack on Federation

See also Yamagami Trial: Peril of Romanticizing Terror

See also Dissolution: Members’ Voices Ignored by Courts

Text: Knut Holdhus, editor

Featured image above: A Japanese woman offering a donation at a meeting. Illustration: Microsoft Designer Image Creator, 10th February 2025.

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