Police conduct body searches and examine belongings in Oita on April 16 before Prime Minister Fumio Kishida gives a campaign speech in an Upper House by-election. (Nen Satomi)

Photo/Illutration Police officers search voters ahead of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s campaign speech in Oita on April 16. (Soichiro Yamamoto)

Police around Japan heightened security for the second half of the unified local elections, and even a can of coffee has been viewed as possible threat against a politician.

The campaigns started on April 16, a day after a man threw an apparent pipe bomb near Prime Minister Fumio Kishida when he was campaigning for a candidate in the Lower House by-election in Wakayama Prefecture.

Uninjured, Kishida, just after noon on April 16, delivered a campaign speech outside JR Beppu Station in Oita Prefecture, where an Upper House by-election is taking place.

Hordes of police officers appeared at the station more than an hour before the speech. They circled a campaign vehicle that Kishida later stood on. A meter-high fence was installed to prevent people from getting too close to the vehicle.

Oita prefectural police deployed more officers than usual for an election campaign to provide security for Kishida. They used metal detectors and checked the belongings of people who arrived for the speech.

Security was also tight on April 16 in Oita for Akie Abe, whose husband, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, was assassinated last year during an election campaign.

Akie visited Oita to rally behind the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s candidate in the by-election. Surrounded by security officers, she did fist bumps with LDP supporters.

Following the April 15 Wakayama incident, the National Police Agency instructed prefectural police across Japan to strengthen measures, such as stopping and questioning suspicious people, checking their belongings, and searching for dangerous items.

“We will thoroughly provide protection and security,” a senior Metropolitan Police Department officer said.

On the afternoon of April 16, dozens of police officers surrounded a campaign vehicle outside a train station in Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward when a party leader gave a speech on top of it for a ward assembly election candidate.

One voter was listening to the speech while holding a can of coffee.

A police officer approached the voter and said, “Please discard (the can of coffee) because it’s dangerous if it’s thrown.”

The party leader touched on the Wakayama bomb attack: “Obstructing the root of democracy with an explosive is totally unacceptable. We would like to continue our campaign without being intimidated by the incident.”

Around 100 voters gathered for another public campaign speech in Tokyo’s Kita Ward delivered by a different party leader on the same day.

A 73-year-old woman said she felt a bit scared visiting the speech venue because of the Wakayama incident.

But she added, “I came here because I want to cast my ballot after listening to the speeches.”

Candidates are also trying to ensure safety in their campaigns.

In the Lower House by-election in the Chiba No. 5 district, one campaign staff member said public speeches by a party leader or someone at a similar level require “so much work” for security measures.

But such bigwigs are indispensable considering how much attention they can draw from voters, the staff member said.

The LDP held a board meeting on April 17 and discussed what happened in Wakayama Prefecture.

LDP Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi told reporters later in the day that Kishida explained at the meeting why he continued giving public speeches after the incident.

“I thought it was important more than anything to carry on campaigning until the end and let voters’ voices be heard sufficiently,” Motegi quoted Kishida as saying.

Related News