Abe's assassination stunned the country where there is virtually no gun crime.
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Tetsuya Yamagami had pleaded guilty to murder charges at the trial's opening last year, but how he should be punished has divided public opinion in Japan. While many see the 45-year-old as a cold-blooded murderer, some sympathise with his troubled upbringing.
Prosecutors said Yamagami deserved life imprisonment for his "grave act". Abe's assassination stunned the country, where there is virtually no gun crime.
Seeking leniency, Yamagami's defence team said he was a victim of "religious abuse".
His mother's devotion to the Unification Church bankrupted the family, and Yamagami bore a grudge against Abe after realising the ex-leader's ties to the controversial church, the court heard.
On Wednesday, Judge Shinichi Tanaka from the Nara district court said the fact that Yamagami "shot [Abe] from behind... when he was least expecting it" showed how "despicable and extremely malicious" his actions were, AFP news agency reported.
Yamagami sat quietly with his hands clasped and eyes downcast as the sentence was handed down. Nearly 700 people had lined up outside the courtroom to attend the hearing.
Abe's shocking death in broad daylight prompted investigations into the Unification Church and its questionable practices, including soliciting financially ruinous donations from its followers.
The case also exposed links with politicians from Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party and resulted in the resignations of several cabinet ministers.
Journalist Eito Suzuki, who covered all but one of Yamagami's court hearings, said Yamagami and his family seemed "overwhelmed with despair" throughout the trial.
Yamagami "exuded a sense of world-weariness and resignation", recounts Suzuki, who began looking into the Unification Church long befo
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