After a suspect tossed a smoke bomb during an outdoor address in western Japan on Saturday, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was removed unharmed.
Japanese media showed Kishida hiding after a loud explosion while police restrained a suspect. Wakayama prefectural police told Nikkei that a police officer received minor injuries.
“Police are investigating the details of the loud explosive sound at the previous speech venue,” Kishida stated as he began campaign talks. I apologize for worrying many. Our nation is holding a crucial election. We must persevere.”
The killing of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-serving modern leader, was similar.
Abe’s murder startled the nation, where gun crimes are rare, and sparked a reassessment of politicians’ security, who often interact with the public.
Masato Kaburagi, a 35-year-old corporate worker who watched the event, told Reuters security still felt slack since another bystander initially took down the suspect.
“I never thought something like this would happen so soon after what happened to Abe,” Kaburagi said with his wife and mother during the event. “I’m done with political events.”
A man, believed to be a suspect who threw a pipe-like object near Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during his outdoor speech, is held by police officers at Saikazaki fishing port in Wakayama, Wakayama Prefecture, south-western Japan April 15, 2023, in this photo released by Kyodo. Mandatory credit Kyodo via REUTERS
On April 23, Japan’s lower house will hold by-elections in many locations.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said police had been ordered to increase security and that the government would do everything it takes to secure a Group of Seven industrial powers conference Kishida will host in Hiroshima next month.
Japan’s foreign ministry said the security strategy for a G7 foreign ministers’ conference in Karuizawa starting Sunday would not alter.
Matsuno said the administration would wait for police conclusions before commenting on the suspect’s motive.
The event occurred late Saturday morning in the Saikazaki fishing harbor in Wakayama prefecture, 65 kilometers (40 miles) southwest of Osaka.
Media said that before the explosion, Kishida was offered local fish. News footage showed Kishida staring back in astonishment as yells filled the semi-enclosed space near the lake. A security guard knocked a canister off his feet.
The Asahi newspaper said that a cooperative fisheries employee held a young guy in a headlock while police surrounded and pulled him. FiftyThen, seconds later, an explosion spewed smoke toward Kishida.
News video showed people fleeing as multiple police officers pinned a guy to the ground and removed him. According to NHK, an official at the scene threw a 20-30 cm (8-12-inch) metal pipe near Kishida.
Investigators said a 24-year-old Kawanishi city man accused of forced obstruction of business has refused to speak until his lawyer comes, Kyodo reported.
Wakayama’s prefectural police headquarters told Reuters they couldn’t discuss the event.
“It gave me a bad feeling, so we ran away unbelievably fast,” a witness told NHK. A loud noise followed. My daughter cried.
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