Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was evacuated safely on Saturday after an explosion occurred just before he was set to give a speech in the western Japanese city of Wakayama. The country’s national broadcaster, NHK, confirmed that Kishida was unharmed.
According to reports, Kishida had been scheduled to give a speech in support of a lower house candidate from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party who was running in a by-election. As Kishida began speaking, an apparent smoke or pipe bomb was thrown at the venue, followed by a loud explosion. Video footage showed people running for shelter, while police officers subdued a man at the scene.
Kishida was evacuated immediately after the explosion, and the police department in Wakayama declined to comment on the incident.
Japan’s local elections are currently being campaigned for throughout the country.
According to CNN, a member of the city council who was present, a “cylindrical silver object” flew “approximately two meters in front of me” just before the explosion occurred, as reported by NHK.
Another witness also saw a “silver cylinder,” which was “thrown and then shone briefly before a loud noise was heard.”
This is seen as a serious security lapse ahead of the upcoming G7 summit of Hiroshima. However, a person was detained by the security officials of the PM. Officials are likely to be investigating the incident thoroughly.
Wakayama is located near Nara, the city where former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated during a campaign speech last July.
Abe was shot with a homemade weapon while campaigning for the LDP in Nara Prefecture. The Japanese government will be keen to ensure that such a tragedy is not repeated, and will likely be reviewing security measures for all high-profile politicians.
For now, the priority is to ensure the safety of Prime Minister Kishida and those around him.