An explosion occurred at a venue where Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was giving an outdoor speech on Saturday. The Prime Minister was evacuated safely and unharmed, and a suspect was arrested by the police. The incident happened in the city of Wakayama, shortly after Kishida's visit to the local Saikazaki Fishing Port. The Prime Minister was giving a political speech in support of his ruling party's candidate in a local by-election for the House of Representatives in a Wakayama district when the explosion occurred.
Members of the public were seen fleeing in a video footage released by Japan's public broadcaster NHK. The footage also showed a man being arrested by multiple men believed to be police officers. A silver cylinder was seen that appeared to have been thrown in Kishida's direction. Local news agency Kyodo news reported that a man had been arrested after throwing "what appeared to be a smoke bomb."
The incident drew immediate comparisons to the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was shot in July last year during a campaign speech in the western city of Nara. Abe's assassination had shocked a nation that is rarely associated with political and gun violence.
In this case, Kishida was giving a political speech, and a cylindrical silver object reportedly flew about two meters in front of a city council member before the explosion was heard. Another eyewitness also reported seeing a silver cylinder thrown before a big sound was heard.
A young man wearing glasses, a mask, and a gray rucksack was seen making hand gestures as though he was trying to light the silver cylinder before being apprehended. Officials later confirmed that Kishida was safe and unharmed and had been taken to another location surrounded by police officers while a man had been arrested on suspicion of forcible obstruction of business and was being questioned.
In Japan, "forcible obstruction of business" is a crime punishable by a jail term of up to three years and a fine of 500,000 yen. Kishida resumed campaigning activities for his ruling Liberal Democratic Party shortly after and gave a speech at the Wakayama railway station. His party in a tweet on Saturday said his speeches would be held as scheduled and apologized for causing concern. The incident may prove uncomfortable for Japan's security establishment, given the assassination of Abe in similar circumstances last year.