Tokyo, April 15 (BNA) Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was evacuated unharmed after a suspect threw what appeared to be a smoke grenade in an open-air speech in western Japan Saturday, local media reported.
NHK said a loud explosion was heard, but the prime minister hid and was unharmed while police beat down a man at the scene. NHK, citing police, said there were no injuries.
“The police are investigating the details of the loud explosive sound at the location of the previous speech,” Kishida said when he resumed his election speeches in a video broadcast by NHK. “I’m sorry for alarming so many people. We are in the middle of an important election for our country. We must get through this together.”
Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, modern Japan’s longest-serving leader, was assassinated with a homemade pistol last July while campaigning for a parliamentary election, shocking the nation and prompting a security review for politicians, who routinely gouge the flesh with the public. .
Reuters reported that by-elections in various regions for the lower house of the Japanese parliament will be held on April 23.
The accident, which occurred late Saturday morning, occurred at the fishing port of Saikazaki in Wakayama Prefecture, 65 kilometers (40 miles) southwest of the city of Osaka.
Media reported that Kishida was serving local seafood specialties just before the explosion. A news video showed Kishida looking back in surprise as shouts spread across the area.
A man identified by the Asahi newspaper as an employee of a fishing co-operative held a young man in a snag as police pulled the suspect over to the ground. Moments later, an explosion and a cloud of smoke are seen near where Kishida was standing.
NHK video showed the thrown object, which appears to be a metal cylinder.
NHK footage showed the crowd running away as several police officers appeared to pin a man to the ground before removing him from the scene. Media said the man appeared to be in his 20s or 30s.
A representative of the Wakayama Prefectural Police Headquarters told Reuters he could not answer questions about the incident. According to Kyodo News, police have arrested a 24-year-old suspect from Kawanshi City.
A woman at the scene told NHK she saw something flying overhead and “I got a bad feeling, so we ran away incredibly fast. Then we heard a very loud noise. It made my daughter cry.”
Kishida is scheduled to host the G7 summit in Hiroshima next month. Japan’s foreign ministry said after the incident that there would be no change in the security plan for the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting, which begins on Sunday at the Karuizawa resort.
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