No one was injured when a smoke bomb was thrown at Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida while he was about to give a speech at the fishing port of Saikazaki in Wakayama on Saturday.
Kishida was immediately evacuated to the nearby police station and is safe, while one person has been arrested.
Kishida was in Wakayama to support a candidate from his own party in a local election when a tubular object was thrown at him while he was about to speak, and a loud explosion was heard.
Kyodo writes that the object was a smoke bomb, and it did not appear that there were any injuries or material damage at the site.
A man who threw what appears to have been a smoke bomb while Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was speaking is being taken care of by police.
Photo: AP
Television images show plainclothes and uniformed police surrounding and overpowering a young man believed to be the perpetrator, and leading him away as people around scream in panic.
A woman who was present told the NHK TV channel that she saw an object flying over her head from behind, and that there was a loud bang. She then fled with her children.
Japan has stepped up security around politicians after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot dead while giving a campaign speech in July 2022.
The episode took place while G7 climate and environment ministers are meeting in Sapporo in northern Japan, the day before G7 foreign ministers arrive in Karuizawa in Nagano for a meeting. Japan will host the G7 summit in Hiroshima next month.
