Japan’s PM Evacuated Unharmed After ‘Smoke Bomb’ Thrown at Speech Site

A man (bottom) is detained after throwing an apparent"smoke bomb" in Wakayama, Japan, on April 15, 2023. STR/JIJI Press/AFP via Getty Images

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was evacuated safely on Saturday after a man threw what appeared to be “a smoke bomb” at a site where Kishida was about to deliver a speech for an election campaign.

Kishida was visiting the local Saikazaki Fishing Port in Wakayama City to support his Party’s candidate in a local election when the incident happened.

Footage released by Japanese broadcaster NHK showed people fleeing in panic as a loud explosion occurred. Kishida was seen standing with his back to the crowd. His security detail suddenly points to the ground near him, and the prime minister whips around, looking alarmed.

“I heard an explosion about 10 seconds after the suspect was taken down. I don’t know what it was, but something that looked like it came from the explosion flew by me,” an unnamed resident told NHK.

The police arrested a man who allegedly threw what seemed to be “a smoke bomb” at the scene. The suspect was identified as Ryuji Kimura, a 24-year-old man from Hyogo prefecture, Kyodo News reported.

A police officer sustained minor injuries as a result of the incident. Kishida was immediately escorted out of the site after the explosion occurred, and his speech there was canceled, NHK reported.

The suspect was found with two cylindrical objects, one of which was used in the attack. Police are still investigating his motive as the suspect refused to speak without the presence of an attorney.

“Elections are a bedrock of democracy. It is extremely unforgivable that such violence took place [at such a time],” chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters, according to Kyodo News.

Matsuno said that authorities were ordered to boost security for officials and that investigation into the incident was underway.

Kishida Resumes Campaigning

Despite the explosion, Kishida resumed campaigning for his ruling party and delivered a speech at the Wakayama railway station later that day. He said the incident must not derail the local elections.

“I am sorry for causing many people to be concerned. We are in the middle of an important election for our country. We must carry this on together,” Kishida said.

The incident drew analogies to the assassination of the late former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was shot and killed during a campaign speech in the western city of Nara on July 8, 2022. Police arrested the shooter on the spot.

A police officer detains a man, believed to have shot former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in Nara, western Japan, on July 8, 2022. The Asahi Shimbun/via Reuters

“I thought there was some kind of explosion and something similar to what happened to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe might have occurred,” an unnamed worker at the fishing port told Kyodo News.

Abe’s assassination shocked a nation that prides itself on public safety and extremely tight gun controls. Amid a national outcry, police have tightened their protective measures following a subsequent investigation that found holes in Abe’s security.

Security has been also ramped up in Japan as senior diplomats from some of the world’s most powerful democracies arrive for Sunday’s G-7 foreign minister meetings. Kishida will host a G-7 leaders’ summit in his hometown of Hiroshima in May.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.