Fumio Kishida was in the west of the country to support a candidate for a by-election. Evacuated after an explosion, he was able to resume his campaign.
By NJ with AFP
© HIDENORI NAGAI / Yomiuri / The Yomiuri Shimbun via AFP
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Fumio Kishida, the Japanese Prime Minister, is safe and sound. On Saturday, he was evacuated after an explosion as he prepared to deliver a speech in the fishing port of Saikazaki, in the west of the country. Several media outlets, including the Kyodo news agency, reported that an object resembling a “smoke bomb” was thrown, but there appeared to be no injuries or visible damage at the scene.
Immediately, a person was arrested. NHK television broadcast footage showing a person being held to the ground by police as the crowd dispersed. The suspect was arrested on suspicion of “obstruction of business”. No official confirmation was immediately issued by authorities, and police declined to comment.
Several hours later, Fumio Kishida was able to resume his electoral activities. “There was a loud explosion […] The police are investigating to find out the details, but I would like to apologize for causing concern and inconvenience to many people,” he said in the early afternoon (Japanese time).
He was present to support a candidate of his party for a by-election. “An important campaign for our country is unfolding, and we must work together and see it through,” he added.
Panic in the harbor
“I ran frantically, then, about ten seconds later, I heard a loud noise and my child started crying. I was in shock. My heart is still beating really hard,” a woman at the scene told NHK. Another person explained to the television channel that a movement of panic among the crowd was triggered even before the explosion, when one person said he saw someone throwing an explosive device.
“It is unfortunate that such an incident happened in the middle of an election campaign, which is the foundation of democracy. It is an unforgivable atrocity,” Hiroshi Moriyama, head of election strategy for the Liberal Democratic Party, told NHK.
The specter of Shinzo Abe’s assassination
The incident comes just nine months after the shooting assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during an election campaign event last July, which shocked Japan and abroad and forced the archipelago to review its safety devices.
The security apparatus protecting Shinzo Abe was relatively light, and his assassination has sparked scrutiny of how politicians are protected. The head of the Japanese national police had subsequently resigned, after acknowledging “failures” in the protection of the former head of government.READ ALSO Japan: Shinzo Abe, assassination of an iconoclast
His assassin, Tetsuya Yamagami, said he targeted Shinzo Abe because of his alleged ties to the Moon sect, also known as the Unification Church. The suspect resented this group, to which his mother would have made very large donations, leading their family to ruin. He had been indicted on January 13 for murder and violating the gun control law.
This new incident on Saturday comes as Japan is hosting ministerial meetings of the G7 this weekend, and the summit of leaders of the countries of this group is to be held in May in Hiroshima. In Sapporo, in the North, the United States President’s special envoy for the climate, John Kerry, said he was “very concerned” after being informed of the incident. Fumio Kishida “is a personal friend and someone I greatly admire”, he added.