TOKYO - Tetsuya Yamagami, the man accused of fatally shooting former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2022, pleaded guilty to the charge on Tuesday, the first day of his trial, local media reported.

The 45-year-old, indicted for killing Abe with a homemade firearm during an election stump speech in western Japan, admitted to the charge of murder and to violating the firearms and swords control law at the Nara District Court, Kyodo News reported.

READ MORE: Police: Shinzo Abe's assassin used a handmade firearm

Yamagami, appearing in court for the first time since the killing three years ago, said he committed the crime due to a grudge he held against the Unification Church, which he believed had close ties to Abe and other Japanese politicians.

Yamagami has told officials that massive donations, likely some 100 million yen (about $660,000), his mother made to the group caused his family's financial ruin, the report said.

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The shocking assassination brought intense attention to the ties between the controversial religious group and members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which Abe formerly led.