Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida resumed his electoral activities on Saturday after being evacuated safe and sound following the explosion of an apparent “smoke bomb” which occurred as he was preparing to deliver a speech.
Mr. Kishida was due to speak in the fishing port of Saikazaki to support a candidate of his party in view of a by-election, and had just tasted local fish when a movement of panic occurred in the crowd.
Several media, including the Kyodo news agency, reported that an object resembling a “smoke bomb” had been thrown. Television images showed a crowd moving before an explosion sounded, followed by the release of white smoke.
A 24-year-old man from the Hyogo region was arrested on Saturday, police in Wakayama, the western town where the incident took place, told Agence France-Presse. No information has yet been given on the possible motivations of the suspect.
NHK television broadcast footage showing the prime minister turning to look behind him as one person was held down by police and the crowd quickly dispersed.
A few seconds later, an explosion occurred and white smoke spread over the site.
Video and photo footage showed a silver-colored cylindrical object on the ground, with no evidence that it was the source of the explosion and smoke.
Witnesses on the spot described moments of panic.
“I ran frantically, then, about ten seconds later, I heard a loud noise and my child started crying. I was in shock. My heart is still beating really hard,” a woman told NHK.
Another person told the TV station that the panic started when someone said they saw someone throwing an explosive device.
Mr. Kishida was not injured and then continued with his program.
“There was a loud explosion. […] The police are investigating to find out the details, but I would like to apologize for causing concern and inconvenience to many people,” he said in the early afternoon (Japanese time) outside Wakayama Station.
He also attended a rally later in the day in Chiba, near Tokyo.
Assassination of Shinzo Abe
“It is unfortunate that such an incident happened in the middle of an election campaign, which is the foundation of democracy. It is an unforgivable atrocity,” Hiroshi Moriyama, head of election strategy for the Liberal Democratic Party, told NHK.
This incident comes just nine months after the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during an election rally last July, which forced the archipelago to review its security arrangements.
The security apparatus protecting Mr. Abe was relatively light, and his assassination prompted a thorough examination of how politicians are protected.
The head of the Japanese national police had resigned after acknowledging “failures” in the protection of the former head of government.
His alleged killer, Tetsuya Yamagami, said he targeted Mr Abe because of his alleged ties 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, leading their family to ruin.
The new incident comes as Japan hosts G7 ministerial meetings this weekend, and the leaders’ summit of the group’s countries is to be held in May in Hiroshima.
In Sapporo (North), the special envoy of the president of the United States for the climate, John Kerry, said he was “very worried” after being informed of the incident. Mr. Kishida “is a personal friend and someone I greatly admire”, he added.