THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
April 15, 2023 at 16:00 JST
WAKAYAMA--Prime Minister Fumio Kishida vowed not to be intimidated April 15 after an explosion at a fishing port here just minutes before he was to give a political speech.
The incident at Saikazaki fishing port occurred around 11:20 a.m. Kishida was escorted to safety by security police and no injuries were reported.
The day started out like any other on the campaign trail. Kishida waved to the crowd of around 200 people and sampled sashimi at the port. He then made his way toward the spot where he was scheduled to speak, along with the candidate from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in the Wakayama No. 1 district by-election to be held on April 23.
That’s when things turned ugly.
A cylindrical silver tube was thrown toward Kishida.
An individual with the Saikazaki fishing cooperative shouted, “It’s him” and pounced on a young man. Security police joined in, forcing the suspect to the ground.
A 30-year-old man from Wakayama city who was at the port because he learned Kishida would be there said, “That was when I heard the blast.”
“To think that something like this could happen in Wakayama,” said the man, referring to the fatal shooting of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe while giving a campaign speech in Nara city last July. “I am just stunned.”
Kishida decided to keep to his schedule.
He went on to travel to JR Wakayama Station to deliver his next campaign speech. Dozens of police officers stood a few meters apart while security police were positioned around the campaign car.
The sidewalks were packed with residents.
Kishida mentioned the earlier explosion and said police were investigating.
“I apologize for causing all of you to worry, but we are now conducting an election that is very important for the nation and I want to work until the end together with all of you in this important endeavor,” Kishida said.
Kishida was scheduled to later fly back to the Kanto region to speak on behalf of an LDP candidate in the Chiba by-election.
Another by-election in Yamaguchi Prefecture is being held to choose a successor to Abe.
Investigative sources said police arrested a man in his 20s at the scene.
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Prime Minister Fumio Kishida samples sashimi at the Saikazaki fishing port in Wakayama city on April 15, minutes before an explosion went off. (Nen Satomi)
