Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was evacuated Saturday after an explosion during an election speech in Wakayama prefecture. This is reported by international news agencies. A man in the audience threw a smoke bomb at the prime minister, after which the explosion followed. Kishida, who gave the speech to support the candidacy of a member of the Liberal Democratic Party in the local elections, was unharmed, as were all bystanders.
According to witnesses, the smoke bomber is in his twenties or thirties. Police officers managed to overpower him almost immediately after his throw. It is still unclear why the man threw the smoke bomb. The police are investigating that.
Kishida responded to the incident on Japanese television. “I am sorry that I have alarmed many people. We are in the middle of an important election for our country. We must continue together.”
The incident comes less than a year after Shinzo Abe, prime minister of Japan between 2012 and 2020, was shot during an election speech. That attack, for which a 41-year-old man was arrested, was fatal. The murder of Abe shocked Japan, which is generally known as a very safe country.