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Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Escapes Assassination Attempt

An assassination attempt on Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, was foiled on Saturday, April 15 when an explosion occurred at a venue where he was delivering an outdoor speech.

Local news agency Kyodo news reported that a man was apprehended after throwing what seemed to be a smoke bomb.

Video footage released by Japan’s public broadcaster NHK showed members of the public fleeing and a man being arrested following the explosion.

The footage depicted multiple police officers detaining the suspect while other images revealed a silver cylinder that was thrown in Kishida’s direction.

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The incident took place in the city of Wakayama, shortly after a visit by Kishida to the local Saikazaki Fishing Port.

The circumstances surrounding the suspected attack drew immediate comparisons to the assassination of Japanese former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who was shot in July last year during a campaign speech in the western city of Nara.

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Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, was shot while addressing a small crowd near a railway station.

The attempted attack on Abe had shocked Japan, a country with a low crime rate, and an Asian nation rarely associated with political and gun violence.

Kishida had also been delivering a political speech, in his case, in support of his ruling party’s candidate in a local by-election for the House of Representatives in a Wakayama district.

A city council member who was at the scene told NHK that a “cylindrical silver object” had flown “about two meters in front of me” shortly before the explosion was heard.

Another eyewitness also reported seeing “a silver cylinder,” saying it “was thrown and then shone a bit before a big sound was heard.”

Footage from NHK showed what appeared to be a young man wearing glasses, a mask, and a gray rucksack standing among a crowd of people gathered to see Kishida’s speech.

Before the man was apprehended, he could be seen holding a silver cylinder and making hand gestures as though he was trying to light it, according to NHK.

Japanese officials confirmed later on Saturday that Kishida was safe and unharmed.

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