04/16/2023
Japan must maximize its security ahead of a visit by G7 authorities, warned Fumio Kishida, who was unharmed in an explosion during an election act on Saturday.
Japan must strengthen security ahead of visits by Group of Seven (G7) authorities, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Sunday (April 16, 2024), a day after an explosive device was thrown at him at a rally.
Kishida was unharmed in the attack with what appeared to be a pipe bomb, which was thrown at him while campaigning in the western city of Wakayama on Saturday.
A 24-year-old man was arrested but has not revealed the motive behind the attack, which took place when Japan was hosting G7 ministerial meetings.
“At a time when high-ranking officials from around the world are visiting us… Japan as a whole must maximize its efforts to ensure security,” Kishida told reporters on Sunday.
“Unforgivable” violence
“It is inexcusable that such an act of violence was committed during an election campaign,” he added.
He said he expected police to step up security measures after the incident, which came less than a year after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was killed by a gunman in the western city of Nara.
Kishida was preparing to give a speech at a Wakayama fishing port when the incident happened on Saturday.
Security agents and local civilians quickly arrested a man identified by the local press as R. Kimura. Local media said Kimura refused to speak to investigators on the case.
The police are searching the suspect’s home for explosives
Meanwhile, the police searched Kimura’s home looking for explosives.
Police began the raid at dawn this Sunday in the town of Kawanishi in Hyogo Prefecture in the west of the country, urging residents to evacuate the area amid the risk of explosives being found, the state chain said. NHK.
They also installed a security seal around the area to prevent entry and began the raid in protective gear and equipped with explosives disposal equipment, according to the same source.
Kimura was carrying a backpack and another metal object believed to be a second pipe bomb at the time of his arrest and is now in custody, although he initially refused to testify until his lawyer arrived.
jc (afp, efe, NHK)