24-Year-Old Man Indicted on Attempted Murder Charges for Attack on Japanese Prime Minister
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese prosecutors formally indicted Ryuji Kimura, a 24-year-old man, on Wednesday for attempted murder and other charges related to the explosives attack on Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in April, court officials announced.
The attack took place while Kishida was campaigning for elections in a small fishing port in Wakayama, western Japan. As the Prime Minister was delivering a speech, Kimura suddenly threw a homemade pipe bomb towards him. Fortunately, Kishida remained unharmed, but two individuals in the vicinity sustained minor injuries.
Kimura was arrested immediately following the incident and has since undergone a three-month psychiatric evaluation as requested by local prosecutors to assess his mental fitness for trial. Local media reports indicate that police and prosecutors confirmed the bomb used in the attack was indeed lethal.
The Wakayama District Court has accepted the indictment against Kimura, charging him with attempted murder, as well as four other offenses, including the violation of gun and swords control laws and explosives control laws.
Although trial dates are yet to be determined, court officials have confirmed the formal indictment against Kimura.
According to the indictment, prosecutors allege that Kimura’s motive was to kill Kishida when he threw the handmade pipe bomb, which resulted in minor injuries to a police officer and a local resident in the audience, as reported by Kyodo News.
Kimura has remained silent during his interactions with authorities. However, Japanese media suggests that his frustration may have stemmed from his inability to file for candidacy in the 2022 elections.
Investigators have discovered that Kimura purchased the explosives used in the bomb in November, around the same time he lost his lawsuit against the government regarding the election system, according to Kyodo News.
This incident occurred approximately a year after the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during his election campaign in Nara, western Japan.
Gun and bomb violence are extremely rare occurrences in Japan, making the attacks on both Abe and Kishida deeply unsettling for the nation.
The trial proceedings for Kimura will be closely monitored as Japan seeks justice for the attempted murder of its Prime Minister and the preservation of its democratic values.