Japanese prime minister unharmed after blast heard at speech
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was evacuated from a port in Wakayama after someone threw an explosive device in his direction, but he was unharmed in the incident, local media reported Saturday.
Several reports, including by Kyodo news agency, said an apparent "smoke bomb" had been thrown but there were no signs of injuries or damage at the scene. It wasn't immediately clear what the explosive device was or how many the suspect had.
A young man believed to be a suspect was arrested Saturday at the scene after he allegedly threw "the suspicious object," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters. Matsuno refused to comment on the suspect's motive and background, saying police are still investigating.
Kishida had just finished sampling fish at the site and was about to deliver remarks to a crowd in support of a ruling party candidate in upcoming lower house by-elections when the incident occurred.
One witness Saturday told NHK television that she was standing in the crowd when she saw something come flying from behind. After a sudden loud noise, she fled with her children. Another witness said people were screaming and that he saw someone being apprehended right before the explosion occurred.
Cell phone video from the scene captured the chaos as the crowd scattered after the sound of the blast.
"That something like this happened in the middle of an election campaign that constitutes the foundation of democracy is regrettable. It's an unforgivable atrocity," Hiroshi Moriyama, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)'s election strategy chairman, told NHK.
Saturday's attack comes ahead of nationwide local elections, including several by-elections for vacated parliamentary seats, with voting scheduled for April 23.
Last July, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was fatally shot while giving an outdoor speech in the western Japanese city of Nara. Police arrested the suspect at the scene, and he was later charged with murder.
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