TOKYO – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida remained unhurt in what is being reported as smoke bomb attack on Saturday at the site of his campaign speech ahead of the by-elections.
Japan’s public media organization NHK said the premier visiting Saikazaki Port in Wakayama Prefecture when the incident occurred, adding that Kishida was evacuated safely by the security officials.
Police have arrested 24-year-old Kimura Ryuji who lives in Kawanishi city in Hyogo prefecture. His speech at the fishing port was later cancelled.
Investigative source told NHK the suspect had two cylindrical objects, one of which exploded. The other was seized by authorities.
Later, Kishida went ahead with a planned speech in front of JR Wakayama Station.
“We are holding an important election across the country and we have to work together to see it through to the end,” NHK quoted the premier as saying.
By-elections in various regions for the lower house of Japan’s parliament are scheduled to be held on April 23.
The incident has recalled the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, was shot dead when he was delivering a speech during a campaign in the Nara region in July last year.
Abe, the longest serving prime minister of the country, was rushed to hospital in unconscious condition with bullet wounds earlier in the day but he could not survive.
