Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was uninjured when a suspect threw a smoke bomb at an outdoor speech in western Japan on Saturday.
Kishida was seen cowering following a loud explosion as police held a suspect, according to Japanese media. According to Wakayama prefectural police, a police officer suffered minor injuries.
“Police are investigating the details of the loud explosive sound at the previous speech venue,” Kishida said as he kicked off his campaign. I apologize for worrying so many people. Our country is undergoing a critical election. We must keep going.”
The assassination of Japan’s longest-serving modern leader, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, was similar.
Abe’s assassination shocked the country, where gun crimes are unusual, and prompted a rethinking of politicians’ security, given they often engage with the public.
Masato Kaburagi, a 35-year-old corporate worker who saw the incident, said that security remained lax after another bystander originally apprehended the suspect.
“I never thought something like this would happen so soon after what happened to Abe,” Kaburagi said during the ceremony, which he attended alongside his wife and mother. “I’m done with political events.”
Many by-elections will be held in Japan’s lower house on April 23.
Hirokazu Matsuno, Chief Cabinet Secretary, said that police have been asked to boost security and that the government would do all possible to protect the Group of Seven industrial powers summit that Kishida will hold in Hiroshima next month.
The security plan for the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in Karuizawa, which begins Sunday, will not change, according to Japan’s foreign ministry.
Matsuno said that the administration would wait for the results of the investigation before commenting on the suspect’s motive.
The incident occurred late Saturday morning in the fishing port of Saikazaki in Wakayama prefecture, 65 kilometers (40 miles) southwest of Osaka.
According to reports, Kishida was served local seafood before the explosion. Kishida was seen looking back in shock as cries filled the semi-enclosed area near the lake. A security guard tripped over a canister.
According to the Asahi newspaper, a fishing cooperative employee put a young man in a headlock as police encircled and removed him. An explosion poured smoke toward Kishida 50 seconds later.
People were seen running as numerous police officers held a man to the ground and removed him. An official on the scene, according to NHK, tossed a 20-30 cm (8-12-inch) metal pipe near Kishida.
According to investigators, a 24-year-old Kawanishi city man suspected of forced obstruction of business has refused to talk until his lawyer arrives, according to Kyodo.
