Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was evacuated from a port in Wakayama after someone threw an explosive device in his direction, but was unhurt in the incident, local media reported Saturday, and a man was arrested at the scene.
Several reports, including the Kyodo news agency, said an apparent “smoke bomb” had been thrown, but there were no signs of injuries or damage at the scene. It was not immediately clear what the explosive ordnance was or how many the suspect had.
Kishida was in town to deliver remarks in support of a ruling party candidate when a disturbance broke out among the crowd gathered to hear him speak.
Footage from national broadcaster NHK showed the prime minister turning to look back as one person was detained by security and people walked away, some shouting.
Seconds later, an explosion was heard and white smoke filled the air. Cell phone video captured chaos as the crowd scattered after the sound of the explosion.
Images and photographs from the scene showed a silver pipe-like object on the ground, but it was not immediately clear if it had caused the explosion and smoke.
Government officials said a man had been arrested on suspicion of obstructing business. He has been identified as a 24-year-old man from the Hyogo region, a Wakayama police official told AFP. There was no immediate information on a possible motive.
A witness told NHK television on Saturday that she was standing in the crowd when she saw something flying from behind. After a sudden strong, she ran away with her children. Another witness said that people were screaming and that he saw someone being arrested just before the explosion occurred.
“I ran frantically, and then, about 10 seconds later, there was a loud sound and my son started crying. I was stunned, my heart is still beating fast,” one woman told NHK.
A man at the scene told the station that “when we all stood in front of the podium, someone started saying ‘guilty!’ or something, or ‘an explosive was set off,’ so everyone started to disperse quickly.”
“And then, about 10 seconds after capturing the culprit, there was an explosion,” he said.
Kishida was unharmed and soon resumed campaigning, including a stop at a local train station.
“There was a loud noise at the scene of the previous intervention. The police are investigating the details, but I would like to apologize for worrying many people and causing them problems,” he said.
“There are important elections going on for our country, and we have to work together and follow them.”
He made a campaign stop later in the day in Chiba, east of Tokyo, despite the incident, which his party’s election strategy chairman Hiroshi Moriyama described as an “unforgivable atrocity”.
Saturday’s attack comes ahead of national local elections, including several by-elections for vacant parliamentary seats, with voting scheduled for April 23.
Last July, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was fatally shot while giving an outdoor speech in the western Japanese city of Nara. Police arrested the suspect at the scene, and it was later loaded with murder
The country tightened security around politicians after Abe’s assassination. Security at local campaign events in Japan can be relatively relaxed, in a country with little violent crime and strict gun laws.
The head of Japan’s National Police Agency, and the local police chief, resigned in the wake of Abe’s assassination after an investigation confirmed “shortcomings” in the former leader’s security.
The incident comes as climate and energy ministers from the Group of Seven countries meet in the northern city of Sapporo, and a day before the bloc’s foreign ministers arrive in the resort town of Karuizawa for conversations
Japan will host the G7 leaders’ summit next month in Hiroshima and security issues have been raised regularly.
