Japanese PM Evacuated After Blast Rocks Campaign Event

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was evacuated from a campaign appearance after a man threw what’s believed to be a smoke bomb. The incident happened at around 11:40 am local time, just as Kishida was about to begin speaking in support of his ruling party’s candidate in a local election. 

The event, at the Saikazaki fishing marina in Wakayama prefecture, was rocked by a loud “boom” that sent spectators scrambling and screaming.  

#UPDATE Local Japanese media is reporting that PM Kishida is safe after a loud bang with the suspect in custody. #Japan #6NewsAU pic.twitter.com/HmH5qg0zDl

— Roman Mackinnon (@RomanMackinnon6) April 15, 2023

A woman told Japanese public broadcaster NHK that she saw an object fly over her head: “It gave me a bad feeling, so we ran away unbelievably fast. Then we heard a really loud noise. It made my daughter cry.”

Police swarmed and subdued a young man believed to have thrown the device, then dragged him to the back of the event venue and bod-stacked him: 

Update
Person apprehended, Japan PM Fumio Kishida safe after blast at speech — Japanese media

(Video via social media) https://t.co/7QM32JZT9Y pic.twitter.com/8DZlcYGtaB

— Geeta Mohan گیتا موہن गीता मोहन (@Geeta_Mohan) April 15, 2023

There were no reported injuries. Kishida was taken away to the prefectural police headquarters, but the Liberal Democratic Party said Kishida would continue his planned campaign schedule over the remainder of Saturday.  

The prime minister will host a Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima May 19 to 21. Ministers of the G7 — representing the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan — are meeting this weekend ahead of the main event. 

The scare comes less than a year after Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated by a man wielding a crude, homemade shotgun, stunning the nation and causing a scandal over the security failure.  

Former Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, was assassinated at a campaign event in the city of Nara in Western Japan.#ShinzoAbe #Nara #RIPShinzoAbe #Japan #BreakingNews #ViralVideo pic.twitter.com/OXSkyEKD5L

— Sangpu Changsan (@_sangpuchangsan) July 8, 2022