Photo/Illutration A fisherman, middle, tackles a man suspected of throwing a pipe bomb in the direction of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Wakayama on April 15. (Nen Satomi)

WAKAYAMA--A 54-year-old fisherman who is being hailed as a hero told reporters that he tackled a man suspected of throwing an explosive device at Prime Minister Fumio Kishida out of "desperation."

Kishida was preparing to give a campaign speech at Saikazaki fishing port on April 15 when chaos ensued and the fisherman sprang into action. 

The man arrived at the campaign speech venue set up at the port at around 8 a.m., three hours before Kishida arrived at the scene.

The man recalled on April 16 as he chatted with other fishermen beforehand, they chuckled nervously, “Nothing like that heck of a thing would ever happen again, right?”

They were referring to the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Nara during a campaign speech in July 2022.

It was the first chance for the man to see a current prime minister in Saikazaki, his hometown, and many people turned out to take advantage of the rare opportunity. 

At around 10:30 a.m., Kishida’s supporters started gathering at the site. The number of attendees grew to about 200.

The man said, “Everybody was looking forward to hearing the prime minister’s speech.”

At a little past 11 a.m., Kishida arrived at the site.

Kishida sampled some local seafood and walked to a podium, waiting to start his speech.

At the time, the fisherman saw a man who was standing to his left ahead of him throw “something blackish” toward Kishida.

The fisherman said the man grasped something else and started to move his hands from his waist.

A worst-case scenario flashed through the fisherman’s mind.

The fisherman responded in an instant. The next thing he knew, he had the man in a strong headlock.

The man still held an object, so the fisherman knocked it from his hand.

The fisherman said he did not know what it was. The man did not resist and did not say a word, the fisherman said.

Other fishermen and police officers jumped into the fray as well, and together they restrained the man.

Shortly after handing the man over to police officers, the fisherman heard an explosion behind him.

“If it exploded near me, my life, too, could have been in danger. I am really glad that nobody was hurt,” the fisherman said.

Ryuji Kimura, 24, was arrested on suspicion of forcible obstruction of business.

At around 5 p.m. that day, as the fisherman was interviewed by investigators at a police station, he received a call on his smartphone from Kishida himself.

“I truly appreciate what you did for me today,” the fisherman reported the prime minister as telling him. 

An on-site investigation continued on April 16 at the port, hampering the fisherman's daily activities. But he had the biggest fish story of all to talk about with the media. 

“I never imagined such a thing would really occur,” the fisherman said. “It is a big shock.”

(This article was written by Fumina Oka and Yuki Hanano.)

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