The Japanese authorities are investigating the apparent attack carried out the day before against Prime Minister Fumio Kishida with explosives, and are trying to determine the motives of the detainee as the alleged perpetrator and the details of the type of device used.
The incident that occurred in the port of Wakayama (west) while Kishida was participating in a rally for local elections has once again shaken a country that, despite being known for its low crime rate, saw former president Shinzo Abe assassinated in full street in a similar event less than a year ago.
Kishida attended the Saigasaki port in the town of Wakayama to deliver a speech at around 11:30 a.m. local time (2:30 GMT) on Saturday.
When the prime minister had his back to the public gathered there to listen to his speech, some two hundred people, an object was thrown from the crowd towards the president, according to images that went viral after being captured by the media and by witnesses of the event. .
Kishida’s security services react quickly to the launch and in a matter of seconds the president is evacuated away from the scene. Simultaneously, the person supposedly responsible for throwing the object is immobilized, thrown to the ground and dragged out of the place by officers in uniform and by people in plain clothes.
The device explodes around 50 seconds after being thrown, causing a roar and white smoke, causing confusion among the crowd. The detainee was carrying a second similar object that seems to fall to the ground when immobilized, and is later picked up by bomb squads.
Kishida announces that he is safe and sound and resumes his schedule of electoral events in Wakayama just over an hour after the incident, highlighting the importance of democracy, while his party condemns the “violent” and “unforgivable” act in full Campaign.
The arrested person has been identified as Ryuji Kimura, 24 years old and a resident of the city of Kawanishi, in the Hyogo prefecture (west). He has been in police custody since Saturday and has refused to give a statement about what happened until he has a lawyer.
For the moment, he is being held for having interrupted the celebration of an electoral act, and while the authorities collect evidence on what could have been an attempted attack with explosives. Kimura was about ten meters from Kishida when he launched the device and, in addition to a second device, was carrying a knife in a backpack, according to police.
The Japanese media have published various personal details about him, but for the moment nothing has emerged that points to his motivations for carrying out the apparent attack.
The object thrown towards Kishida and exploded after his evacuation was believed to be a pipe bomb, a type of domestically manufactured explosive that requires some technical complexity to make and activate to be lethal.
Several weapons experts have pointed out to the local media that the device could have had an ignition device with a delayed effect.
They have also explained that instructions can be found online to manufacture this type of device with elements such as metal pipes and gunpowder made from substances present in pesticides and other legal products. Some experts have also pointed out after observing the intensity of the explosion that it would not have been enough to be deadly.
The police have found a substance similar to gunpowder at the arrestee’s home and continue to investigate the other device.
Kishida said today that “a violent act can never be tolerated during elections, which are the basis of democracy”, in statements to the media, and reiterated his willingness to continue with the campaign.
The prime minister also called for tightening security measures across the country during the campaign for local body elections scheduled for next Sunday, in which vacant seats in the national Parliament will also be chosen.
The Japanese authorities are expected to file specific charges against the detainee in the coming days based on the evidence gathered in the investigation.
