THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
October 19, 2024 at 12:50 JST
A man in his late 40s was taken into police custody after he hurled several crude firebombs at the Tokyo headquarters of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and used his car to ram the protective barrier set up in front of the prime minister’s office.
There were no reports of injuries arising from the incident that occurred around 6 a.m. on Oct. 19.
The suspect was identified as Atsunobu Usuta, 49, of Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture, just north of Tokyo. He was arrested on suspicion of interfering with the duties of public officials after he also lobbed a flare at police officers on duty near the prime minister’s office.
During a campaign speech in Satsuma-Sendai, Kagoshima Prefecture, on Oct. 19, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said, “We believe that democracy should absolutely never bend to an act of violence such as this.”
According to investigative sources, Usuta threw several Molotov cocktails in the direction of the LDP offices in Chiyoda Ward.
There was an unconfirmed report that a motor vehicle caught fire.
He drove off and then tried to penetrate the blockade outside the prime minister’s office.
Usuta was refusing to answer police questions, sources said.
Several plastic containers were found in his abandoned car.
About 10 police and fire department vehicles converged on LDP headquarters after the firebomb incident.
A 65-year-old man who lives nearby said sirens sounded from around 6 a.m.
LDP Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama issued a statement expressing “strong anger” over the incident as it occurred during the middle of the Lower House election campaign.
Moriyama vowed that nothing would be allowed to disrupt the democratic process, adding that he issued instructions to law enforcement authorities around the nation to thoroughly implement security measures, especially during campaign speeches in public venues.
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Police officers outside the Tokyo headquarters of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party after firebombs were thrown early on Oct. 19. (Shiori Ogawa)
