Fumio Kishida was rushed away from the chaotic scene after a sudden explosion interrupted his speech.
A loud blast was heard during Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s visit to the port city of Wakayama on Saturday, creating chaos as the crowd attempted to flee. The premier was evacuated from the scene, reportedly unharmed, and authorities have taken one suspect into custody.
An explosion rang out around 11:30am local time as the PM prepared to deliver a stump speech at the Saigasaki fishing port, with a man emerging from the crowd and hurling what appeared to be a “smoke bomb” toward Kishida, according to Kyodo News.
Multiple witnesses cited by NHK, including a local city council member, said they saw somebody throw a “cylindrical silver object” immediately before the blast. There were no injuries, according to initial reports.
The resulting panic was captured on video, showing police officers scuffling with a suspect on the ground as they attempted to subdue him. Bystanders were also seen fleeing in all directions amid the confusion.
きょう午前11時半前、和歌山市の雑賀崎漁港で岸田総理大臣が視察を終えて演説を始める直前に、大きな爆発音がしました。岸田総理大臣は、現場から避難したということです。
最新情報を速報しています👇https://t.co/EQMeVH4jjH#nhk_news pic.twitter.com/JGGGjc1n5H
— NHKニュース (@nhk_news) April 15, 2023
Kishida was unharmed in the incident and safely evacuated from the area, according to Japanese officials. The leader traveled to the port city to voice support for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, as candidates campaign for a by-election set for later this month.
The PM’s predecessor, Shinzo Abe, was assassinated during a public campaign event last year, with a gunman fatally shooting the former leader with a homemade firearm. A 41-year-old veteran of the Japanese military, Tetsuya Yamagami, was arrested at the scene and later confessed to the murder.
I wonder IF the failed bomber is a Hikikomori, or..the young people who shut themselves away from Japanese society and thus become an embarrassment for their families…
The intense high pressure of conforming to Japanese society and the competition for jobs pushes many to breaking point, so they just disengage…
Perhaps many Hikikomori are coming to the realisation that their lives are minimalistic, with no expanding horizons, and that successive Japanese Governments have not even made the attempt to change Japanese society to be less stressful, less competitive, and less expectant overall.
Maybe that’s why the young man did what he did…!