Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was evacuated unharmed on Saturday after someone threw an explosive device at a campaign event in a western port city, officials said. Police wrestled a suspect to the ground as screaming bystanders scrambled to get away and smoke filled the air.
Although no one was hurt, and Kishida planned to continue campaigning Saturday, the chaotic scene was reminiscent of the assassination nine months ago of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which also came on a campaign tour and continues to reverberate in Japanese politics.
Kishida was visiting the Saikazaki port in Wakayama prefecture to support his ruling party’s candidate in a local election, and the explosion occurred just before he was to begin his speech.
A young man believed to be a suspect was arrested Saturday at the scene after he allegedly threw the explosive, NHK said.
TV footage showed several uniformed and plainclothes police officers gathered around the man, piling onto him and roughly dragging him over the ground. It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the explosion, but some reports said it was a smoke or pipe bomb.
No injuries were reported in the incident, which came on the eve of a major international forum in Japan. Kishida was not hurt and planned to continue giving campaign speeches later Saturday, according to a government official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he’s not authorized to publicly speak to the press.
