This incident comes just nine months after the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a campaign rally last July, which shocked Japan and abroad and forced the archipelago to review its security arrangements.
“There was a loud explosion […] Police are investigating to find out the details, but I apologize for causing concern and inconvenience to many people,” Mr. Kishida said early Saturday afternoon (Japan time) outside Wakayama Station, a few kilometers from the crime scene of the incident.
An explosion occurred during a speech by Japanese Prime Minister Min#Wakayama.
An unknown person threw an object in the politician’s direction, similar to a firecracker or flare.
The perpetrator was arrested at the scene of the crime. Fumio Kishida had to cancel the performance. pic.twitter.com/7q6wS6xSR6
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) April 15, 2023
“An important campaign for our country is unfolding and we must work together and see it through,” he added. He was also scheduled to attend another public event in Chiba near Tokyo in the afternoon.
The Japanese leader was due to speak at the Saikazaki fishing port on Saturday morning to support his party’s candidate for a by-election and had just tasted local fish when a panic movement swept the crowd. Several outlets, including the Kyodo News Agency, reported that an object resembling a “smoke bomb” was thrown, and TV footage showed crowds moving before an explosion sounded, followed by the release of white smoke.
NHK TV shows showed a person being pinned to the ground by police as the crowd dispersed and reported that a man had been arrested at the scene on suspicion of “obstructing businesses”. No official confirmation was immediately issued by authorities and police declined to comment.
“Unpardonable Cruelty”
“I ran frantically, then about ten seconds later I heard a loud noise and my child started crying. I was shocked. My heart is still beating very hard,” a woman at the scene told NHK. Another person told the TV station that even before the blast, a panic movement was sparked in the crowd when one person said they saw someone throw an explosive device.
“It is unfortunate that such an incident has taken place in the midst of an election campaign that is the foundation of democracy. It is an unforgivable atrocity,” Hiroshi Moriyama, head of election strategy for the LDP, told NHK.
Japan has tightened its security measures after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot dead while speaking at a campaign rally last July.
The security apparatus protecting Mr Abe was relatively light, and his assassination prompted a thorough investigation into how politicians are protected. The chief of Japan’s national police then resigned after admitting “deficiencies” in protecting the former prime minister.
His alleged killer, Tetsuya Yamagami, said he targeted Mr Abe for his alleged links to the Moon sect, also known as the Unification Church. The suspect resented this group, to which his mother would have made very large donations and ruined her family.