Japan PM Fumio Kishida evacuated after bomb scare at rally, suspect in custody

Japanese Premier Fumio Kishida was evacuated right before he was expected to deliver a speech at a rally in Wakayama after an explosion that rocked the western city on Saturday. According to local media reports, the blast was heard and plumes of smoke enveloped Saikazaki fishing port where the PM concluded his inspection tour to deliver an address. 

While details of the explosion are yet to be revealed, national broadcaster NHK confirmed that Kishida was moved to a safe location. One person was detained following the blast. According to Japan Times, an apparent smoke or pipe bomb was hurled at the leader when he was talking to a Liberal Democratic Party candidate who was campaigning for a lower house by-election for the Wakayama No. 1 district.  

Videos of the incident doing rounds on social media display journalists and people at the rally fleeing to safety and a man being held by others who appear to be law enforcement officials. The bomb scare comes less than a year after Kishida's predecessor Shinzo Abe was shot dead during a stump speech. On July 8, 2022, Abe died on his way to the hospital after he was shot during a political campaign event held in the city of Nara.

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Bomb scare rings a bell to Shinzo Abe's assassination

The deadly attack on the former PM was condemned by Kishida, who said that it was "barbaric and malicious and it cannot be tolerated." The assassination was "an act of brutality that happened during the elections - the very foundation of our democracy - and is absolutely unforgivable," he had said.

Saturday's attack comes shortly after Kishida embarked on a surprise visit to Ukraine and neighbouring Poland earlier in March. The state visit coincided with Chinese President Xi Jinping's meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow. “Mr Prime Minister Kishida has arrived in Ukraine when it is important to step up global leadership to protect the Purposes and Principles of the UN Charter and international security in general,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on Facebook.