Japanese PM evacuated from campaign event, man arrested after explosion

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was evacuated unharmed on Saturday after someone threw an explosive device in his direction as he campaigned in a fishing port in western Japan, officials said.

Police wrestled the suspect to the ground while screaming bystanders scrambled to leave and smoke filled the air.

A police officer suffered minor injuries in the incident, the Nikkei newspaper reported, citing Wakayama prefectural police.

“Police are investigating the details of the loud explosion at the speech venue earlier,” Kishida said as he continued his campaign speech. “I’m sorry to cause so many people to worry. We are in the middle of an important election for our country. We have to do this together.”

This chaotic scene is reminiscent of the assassination nine months ago of former prime minister Shinzo Abe, who also attended a campaign rally and continues to reverberate through Japanese politics.

Kishida was visiting the port of Saikazaki in Wakayama prefecture to support the ruling party’s candidate in a local election, and the explosion occurred before he began his speech.

Motives are unclear

A young man believed to be a suspect was arrested Saturday at the scene after he allegedly threw a “suspicious object,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters. Matsuno declined to comment on the suspect’s motive and background, saying police were still investigating.

TV footage showed Kishida standing with his back to the crowd. His security detail suddenly pointed to the ground near him, and the prime minister whipped around, looking worried.

The camera quickly zoomed in on the crowd as several people, including a police officer in uniform and plainclothes, gathered around a young man wearing a white surgical mask and holding another device, a long silver tube.

As they fell on top of the man, used to remove the tube from his hand, a larger explosion was heard near where Kishida had been standing. The crowd panicked as the police dragged the man away.

It was not immediately clear what the explosive device was or the number of suspects, but some reports said it was a smoke or pipe bomb, possibly with a blown fuse.

No injuries among the crowd were reported in the incident, which happened on the eve of a major international forum in Japan.

‘We must never tolerate threats’

The investigation at the scene continued into the night. Japanese media reports said the suspect refused to talk to police until his lawyer arrived.

“Elections are the essence of democracy, and we never tolerate threats or obstacles with violence,” Matsuno said.

He said he has instructed the national police to ensure maximum efforts are made to protect dignitaries visiting Japan in the run up to the Group of Seven summit in May.

Abe’s killing, which shocked a country that prides itself on public safety and strict gun control, happened as he was giving a campaign speech in the western city of Nara on July 8, 2022.

Amid national outrage, police have tightened protective measures after a subsequent investigation found holes in Abe’s security.

Security is also heightened in Japan as senior diplomats from some of the world’s most powerful democracies arrive for Sunday’s G7 foreign ministers’ meeting. Kishida will host the G7 leaders’ summit on May 19-21 in his hometown of Hiroshima.

Suddenly there was a loud noise

One witness on Saturday told NHK television that he was standing in the crowd when he saw something fly from behind. After a loud noise, she ran away with her children. Another witness said that people were screaming and that they saw someone being held before the explosion happened.

Saturday’s strike comes ahead of local elections nationwide, including several general elections for vacant parliamentary seats, with votes scheduled for April 23.

In Abe’s assassination, the former prime minister was shot with a homemade gun during a campaign speech. The suspect, Tetsuya Yamagami, has been charged with murder and several other crimes, including violating gun control laws.

He told investigators that he killed Abe, one of Japan’s most influential and divisive politicians, because the former prime minister had ties to a religious group he hated. In a statement and in a social media post linked to him, Yamagami said he held a grudge because his mother had made huge donations to the Unification Church that bankrupted his family and ruined his life.

Abe’s assassination prompted the resignation of local and national police chiefs and tightened security guidelines for political leaders and other important people.

The Kishida government hopes to focus world attention this weekend on the hot spring resort town of Karuizawa, where senior diplomats will gather on Sunday for a meeting of Group of Seven foreign ministers. Foreign ministers from Japan, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and the European Union are expected to focus on concerns over Russia’s war in Ukraine, China’s increasingly belligerent rise and North Korea’s provocative weapons tests. .