Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was rushed to safety after a man hurled an apparent smoke or pipe bomb just as he was about to begin his speech at an event in the port city of Wakayama in western Japan on Saturday.
The Japanese media is reporting that a loud explosion was also heard at Kishida was evacuated from the venue.
The incident took place at 11.25 am Tokyo time today as several hundred people were getting ready to hear Kishida’s speech along with a by-election candidate of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida was Evacuated during a Speech at a Fishing Pier in the Wakayama Region after a Person in the Crowd threw what was initially believed to be an “Explosive Device” at the Prime Minister; the Object later turned out be a Smoke Canister/Grenade. pic.twitter.com/ps91HUCMMm
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) April 15, 2023
Last July, former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe was fatally shot at a similar ‘stump speech’ in Nara, raising a big question over the security of VIPs in Japan.
Videos of a man suspected of hurling the pipe bomb being held by police have now gone viral on social media.
