Man arrested after ‘smoke bomb’ is thrown at Japan’s prime minister

Man arrested after ‘smoke bomb’ is thrown at Japan’s prime minister: Incident comes less than a year after assassination of former PM Shinzo Abe

• Fumio Kishida, the prime minister of Japan, was giving a speech in the western city of Wakayama on Saturday when he was attacked
• An assailant threw a pipe-like object at Kishida, forcing him to be evacuated from the scene: local media said it was a smoke bomb, and Kishida was not hurt
• The attacker was swiftly arrested by police  

By Harriet Alexander For Dailymail.com

Published: 04:52 BST, 15 April 2023 | Updated: 05:11 BST, 15 April 2023

Japan’s prime minister was forced to take cover on Saturday after a pipe-like object believed to be a smoke bomb was thrown at him during an outdoor speech.

Fumio Kishida was unharmed in the incident, which came after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot dead on the campaign trail by a lone assailant with a homemade gun last year – an attack which stunned the nation.

Kishida’s assailant was swiftly arrested. 

The attack happened in the western city of Wakayama – only 60 miles from Nara, where Abe, 67, was assassinated on July 8, 2022.

A loud explosion was also heard, but the premier took cover and was unharmed while police subdued a man at the scene, public broadcaster NHK said.

Local news agency Kyodo news reported that a man had thrown ‘what appeared to be a smoke bomb.’ 

Police in Wakayama are seen on Saturday detaining a man who threw a pipe-like object at Japan’s prime minister

Fumio Kishida, the prime minister of Japan, is seen shortly before the attack at Saikazaki fishing port in Wakayama

A man ruins from the cylindrical-shaped object thrown at Kishida

Footage from the public broadcaster showed crowds of people running away as several police officers appeared to pin an individual to the ground before removing him from the scene.

Kishida had just started to deliver a speech after touring the fishing harbor in Wakayama when the incident occurred, NHK said.

A city council member who was at the scene told NHK that shortly before the explosion was heard a ‘cylindrical silver object’ had flown ‘about two meters in front of me.’

Another eyewitness also reported seeing ‘a silver cylinder,’ saying it ‘was thrown and then shone a bit before a big sound was heard.’

Kishida had been scheduled to give a speech in support of a lower house candidate from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party – Abe’s party – who was running in a by-election. 

Kishida is due to host a Group of Seven (G7) leaders’ summit in Hiroshima next month.

The man who threw what appeared to be a smoke bomb at the prime minister is seen being arrested on Saturday

The murder of Abe – Japan’s most famous politician – stunned his country.

The shooting was a particular shock in Japan, where gun ownership is tightly restricted and political violence affecting top leaders has been rare in recent decades. 

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