A person (bottom) is detained after throwing an apparent “smoke bomb” in Wakayama on April 15, 2023, where Japan’s prime minister was due to give a speech.
STR/JIJI Press/AFP via Getty Images
STR/JIJI Press/AFP via Getty Images
SEOUL — Japanese authorities evacuated Prime Minister Fumio Kishida after an explosion was heard at a port where he was due to give a stump speech. There are no reports of injuries, and at least one person has been detained.
Kishida was in the city of Wakayama, stumping for a candidate in upcoming by-elections. Public broadcaster NHK reported that an object was thrown and there was an explosion and white smoke.
NHK video shows half a dozen security personnel pinning a person wearing olive-colored pants and sneakers to the ground, before dragging the person away.
Japan updated VIP protection procedures following the assassination of ex-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe last July.
A police report following Abe’s shooting concluded that with better planning and on-site security, Abe’s killing could have been prevented.