On Saturday, the Japanese Police detained a young man who has been charged with throwing an explosive towards Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during a political event in the city of Wakayama in Japan. The name of the suspect has not yet been revealed publicly, but several uniformed and plain-clothed police officers held him down before being hauled to the side, as reported by the local media channels.
Police said they have arrested a man who appears to have thrown a bomb at Prime Minister Kishida Fumio when he was about to give a speech.
The explosion that occurred on Saturday in Wakayama at a rally of the Japanese prime minister, Fumio Kishida, did not result in any injuries. At around 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, a loud explosion was heard accompanied by white smoke at Saikazaki Port in Wakayama City. The PM was immediately surrounded by security personnel, evacuated and safely transported to an unknown location by Japanese officials.
A number of witnesses say they saw someone throw a silver, cylindrical object and that it must have exploded.
After the blast, the Japanese PM took to Twitter to affirm that he will continue to stand on the stage of street speeches. “We are now holding elections, the most important part of democracy for our country. I have to ask each and every one of you, who are the main players in this country, to clearly show your thoughts. With that thought in mind, I continue to stand on the stage of street speeches. I am determined to carry this important election through to the end, working together with the people,” he said in his first tweet since Saturday’s explosion.
As reported earlier, there was the sound of an explosion at the location. Kishida reportedly sought sanctuary at the venue and escaped unharmed.
The video footage of the incident was made public by the Japanese media in which several police officers could be seen protecting the Prime Minister while others who had gathered at the scene for the speech could be seen fleeing for safe shelter.
The event occurred a few months after Shinzo Abe, former prime minister of Japan, was tragically assassinated in July 2022 while giving a campaign speech before the Upper House election.