Fear returns to Japan less than a year after the assassination attempt on former premier Shinzo Abe during an election rally. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was evacuated from the place where he was giving a speech after an explosion was heard and smoke filled the area. The premier is safe and one person was arrested on the spot, a port in the prefecture of Wakayama, in the west of the country. No injuries were reported and Kishida was able to leave the area unharmed accompanied by his escort.
Police said they arrested a man who threw an explosive device similar to a paper bomb in the direction of the premier, before being caught up and blocked by the police. The explosion, albeit contained, of the bomb created confusion but caused no injuries in the crowd, and Kishida himself was unhurt in the incident.
The Japanese prime minister then resumed his electoral campaign activities, interrupted in the morning by the explosion as he was preparing to give a speech in the western part of the country. “There was a huge explosion. The police are investigating to find out the details, but I would like to apologize for causing concern and inconvenience to many people,” Kishida told public broadcaster NHK.
