Photo/Illutration Ryuji Kimura is taken to the Wakayama District Public Prosecutors Office on April 17. (Jun Ueda)

A man suspected of hurling an explosive device at Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has been an outspoken critic of the electoral system and filed a lawsuit against the central government to change election laws. 

Ryuji Kimura, 24, an unemployed man who lives in Kawanishi, Hyogo Prefecture, who was arrested and sent to prosecutors on suspicion of forcible obstruction of business, sued the government in June 2022, demanding 100,000 yen ($745) in damage compensation. 

According to court documents, Kimura wanted to run for a seat in the Upper House in the July 2022 elections but was unable to do so because he was not eligible.

Under the Public Offices Election Law, the right to hold office in the Upper House is limited to those 30 or older.

In addition, Kimura did not have the 3 million yen deposit to file his candidacy, which is required for Upper House electoral district candidates.

Kimura said he had suffered emotional trauma because of that.

He argued those requirements were unfair and discriminatory and said, “I am the same as any adult.”

The law’s stipulation in terms of eligibility to run in an election “is baseless and violates the right to hold office,” Kimura argued in the lawsuit.

He also argued that the deposit for candidacy violates Article 44 of the Constitution, which bans discrimination based on wealth and income.

Kimura wanted the government to lower the age eligibility requirement to hold office to the age of adulthood and abolish the deposit for candidacy system.

The Kobe District Court in November 2022 dismissed Kimura’s claim, saying that the law’s stipulations are reasonable.

But Kimura appealed the district court’s ruling to the Osaka High Court.

He criticized the district court’s ruling as, “a copy-and-paste rendering of the central government’s argument.”

Kimura said the age eligibility requirement “suppresses (people) from running for office and therefore suppresses people’s voting activities.”

Kimura argued that the stipulation has allowed for a system where politicians “win a seat without a public mandate because they have organized support for votes such as from the Unification Church and unjustly earn a monopoly profit, and continue to inflict damage on people.” 

The opening oral argument was heard in late March this year. The court closed the case the same day.

The appeal court decision is expected to be handed down in late May.

The Wakayama prefectural police has been made aware of Kimura’s lawsuit and is investigating if it is related to his motives for his actions.

Kimura has remained silent since he was taken into custody at the scene.

Kimura also attended a municipal government briefing session held by a Kawanishi city assembly member who was related to the Liberal Democratic Party on Sept. 24, 2022, at a community center in his neighborhood.

Kimura left his name and address on the list of attendees.

Masaki Ogushi, an LDP Lower House member who attended the session, told reporters on April 18 that he recalls a young man believed to be Kimura attending the meeting.

Ogushi said Kimura expressed his dissatisfaction with the candidate age eligibility requirement and said it “is likely a constitutional violation” and demanded the law be revised.

Ogushi said he engaged in conversation with Kimura for about 20 minutes that day.

Ogushi’s electoral base is the No. 6 district in Hyogo Prefecture, which includes Kawanishi. Ogushi currently serves as a vice minister for the Cabinet Office.

The Kawanishi city assembly member who held the meeting, who is no longer on the city assembly, said a man believed to be Kimura asked questions such as wanting to know the salaries of city assembly members.

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