AFP | The Japanese prime minister had to be evacuated after being hit by a blast while preparing to deliver a speech in the west of the country, local media reported.
Japanese leader Fumio Kishida was due to speak at the Saikazaki fishing port on Saturday morning to support a candidate for his party in view of a by-election and had just tasted local fish when crowds panicked.
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”.
A 24-year-old man from the Hyogo area (west) was arrested, Wakayama police told AFP news agency. No information has yet been given about the reason for this explosion.
Safe and healthy
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.
However, Fumio Kishida resumed his campaign activities on Saturday.
“There was a loud explosion […] The police are investigating to find out the details, but I would like to apologize for worrying and bothering many people,” Mr. Kishida said on Saturday early afternoon (Japan time) outside Wakayama Station, the scene of the incident a few kilometers away.
“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.
“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 strongly,” 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 electoral strategy for the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan, 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 “shortcomings” 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.
The new incident on Saturday comes as Japan hosts G7 ministerial meetings this weekend and the summit of leaders of the group’s countries is due to take place in Hiroshima in May.
In Sapporo (north), the United States President’s special envoy for the climate, John Kerry, said he was “very concerned” after being briefed on the incident. Mr. Kishida “is a personal friend and someone I admire a lot,” he added.