Kishida unhurt after explosive device thrown at him in Wakayama

Kishida walks around like Abe wasn't killed for less.

Is it a copyright attack of the Abe assassination? No, but still throwing anything at a politician giving a speech is not acceptable.

WOW!…; … scary times…!

..

everyone’s safe(!)… that’s the most important thing now…; we’ll talk about the rest later.

So, if it had been a real bomb, Kishida would have likely suffered the fate of Abe. Seems like again the security expected to protect the PM and other leaders has failed. Maybe cut the stump speeches? They are unwanted and annoying, and do very little for safety, obviously.

Glad Kishida was unhurt, but I share the absolute frustration with the LDP.

Terrible and shocking news.

Let's all be thankful PM Kishida - and his entourage- appear to be safe. Hopefully those behind this are locked away for minimum 50 years.

Japan is not SAFE country anymore.

Wrong. Japan remains an unbelievably safe place.

There certainly is a lot of resentment and bubbling anger, especially among the younger generation as opportunities have evaporated for many.

Security needs to be redone for the PM. Wasn't the Abe assassination enough of a wake up call?

G7 coming up.

Glad that I don't live anywhere the venues as the security measures are going to be unbelievable after this little trial run.

It’s interesting that the younger Japanese that I speak to in the present have some degree of resentment against politicians.

The young are waking up and beginning to see through the vague speeches and wasteful actions of service-to-self politicians

Casting a vote does little to change lives in Japan but history is full of violent acts that cause change

Surely, not the way for societal advancement but as we all know,

History repeats…

Time to wake up Kishida and LDP.

People are not happy…, there’s a lot of anger out there… especially among younger generations… but one thing I’m not gonna do is promote violence… / … and here we go… my previous comment is already heavily downvoted… and why? What I meant is that the safety of every single person there was the most important thing at that moment… we can talk about politics and security issues later; there are lessons to be learned… but people s safety (and that includes the PM) comes first… and here I was thinking that people would agree with me but apparently I was wrong.

The default response of most Japanese has, for the 40 years I have been associated with the place, always been a distrust of politicians. So much so that you often wonder whether politicians purposely encourage that in the people because they know it turns them off politics and diminishes true engagement and hence scrutiny. They certainly have a professional skill at making things boring. But that distrust is, in any case, rarely turned into action.

50 years? Bit of an overreaction that? Not condoning it it but there is nothing unusual about politicians in other demokrashii countries having eggs, tomatoes, and other stuff thrown at them during campaigning. While the demonstrators are rightly punished for it, 50 years ?...c'mon.

Initial reports I saw coming in were that it was a home made explosive. Now the news is that it was a smoke bomb.

50 years for a smoke bomb is harsh, I agree. 6 months for disturbing the peace may be called for though - assuming that is all this guy had in his home.

Just saw some video of the domestic terrorism incident in Wakayama. Complete panic and mayhem. Japan is certainly not fit to host the G7 following this. Very lucky no one was hurt. Prayers for PM Kishida today.

Just remember that violent attacks are extremely rare in Japan. But there is nervousness about security around politicians, after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot dead while on the campaign trail last year.

This is an indication of how rude and uncivilized a country Japan has become. Abe was assassinated by a DIY gun. Now Kishida is attacked by a smoke bomb. What is the penalty for throwing a smoke bomb at a politician? I hope they punish him to the full extent of the twisted undecipherable Japanese law. When I was heckled at a live show, nobody did anything. I am grateful vigilant Japanese police officers were there to protect Kishida and arrest the bell end who chucked pyrotechnics at our revered leader. Make Japan Great Again! Please!

Seems like the security in Japan hasn’t improved since Abe. No shocker there.

He's a politician. He's lucky it wasn't worse.

It was a pretty loud bang for just a harmless "smoke bomb". I imagine if people were close enough to it when it exploded, there would have been injuries. Thankfully, it appears that everybody was moved away from it before it exploded.

Fighto!

Initial reports I saw coming in were that it was a home made explosive. Now the news is that it was a smoke bomb.

I'd go with those initial reports. That was no "smoke bomb".

Larr FlintToday  12:41 pm JST

Terrible news! 

Japan is not SAFE country anymore. 

Second US in making.

Calm down… calm down…; Japan is still ( extremely ) safe…;

most of the bad stuff happens between family members and yakuza and their associates…;

I’d say that celebrities and politicians need to keep their eyes open…; (you’re not a celebrity or a politician, right?)…;

the perverts are a problem, yes, but they’re pathetic cowards…;

considering that this country has a population of one hundred and twenty five million people, Japan “ ain’t that bad “, don’t you agree?

Don't think Japan is ready to host the G7 summit.

Toshimitsu Motegi, secretary general of the LDP, said, "It is deplorable that such violence took place during an election, a bedrock of democracy."

Lol. Now the LDP cares about democracy.

You really need help with that?

Yep

better watch out ! Japan has become a unsafe country! maybe that man was a Abe fun! you never know

I don't see this as anger or politics, I see it as part of a national psyche. As distinct from South Koreans where people with a grievance will protest on the main street of parliament, most often hiring trucks with billboards etc., blaring away making sure the whole world knows their grievance. I kid you not, I saw a protest about an arranged marriaged that dailed to take place, and as far as the bride to be's mother is concerned, the world is about to end.

Japanese people with a grievance will not say anything to your face let alone shout it out in public, they just sneek up on you, sometime trying hard to even hide who they are. Obvious examples - this and Abe shooting.

...or Singaporeans who have no grievance whatsoever, because their government is perfect, the society the government created is perfect...

"Seems like the security in Japan hasn’t improved since Abe. No shocker there"

...

Now they will be patrolling more heavy and profiling more heavily at the wrong things as usual, while it "appears" those black trucks with speakers on top are getting more stronger and pervasive....how about that?.

After watching the video how security officers reacted, thinking back how Abe was killed doesn't surprise me at all.

I was once in Hokkaido and ran into what I can guess was international politicians (possibly Korean) and these men in black were everywhere. Including barricades around the city, black sedans, and so many officers.

Quantity vs quality.

They've got the numbers (and the money). But after that video, and pictures shown here in JT of police getting ready for G7, I think they need better tactical training.

Drills for G7: https://youtu.be/lws13HWiQXA?t=37

How ghastly! How terrible! How horrible! Not a year has passed since Prime Minister Abe was assasinated! Prime Minister Fumio Kishida would have to appear behind a bullet-proof glass cage and, travel around in a popemobile to appear in public in the future because copycats are now having their imaginations activated. Is Japan today becoming the U.S.A. of the Eastern Pacific? How horrible! How terrible! How ghastly!

Correction on Stephen Chin's comment

{Is Japan today becoming the U.S.A. of the Western Pacific?}

lunaticToday  02:30 pm JST

Don't think Japan is ready to host the G7 summit.

Japan has assumed the G7 Presidency and hosted Summits six times.

1979 (Tokyo Summit), 1986 (Tokyo Summit), 1993 (Tokyo Summit), 2000 (Kyushu-Okinawa Summit), 2008 (Hokkaido Toyako Summit), and 2016 (Ise-Shima Summit).

Well this guy just handed Kishida the sympathy vote.

Hmmm.... was it planned that way? Someone needs to check out any connections between this guy, the LDP and Kishida.

What has happened to the process of reasoned debate?

This Ryuji Kimura 24, allegedly threw what has been described as a pipe smoke bomb in the direction of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida resulting in a loud bang, brings the prospect that politicians will refrain from all forms of public hustings engagements.

The Ryuji Kimura's of Japan must not be allowed to impede or obstruct the election process, to stop/prevent constituents engaging with there elected politicians in public.

Hopefully those behind this are locked away for minimum 50 years.

seems to be a reoccurring theme for you.

I wonder if any new security laws will be rushed into place after this "incident".

Stephen Chin,the US secret service take preemptive major,by visiting people that are threat to the President

It might if they actually VOTED. But we don’t know because hardly any young people have ever bothered.

And to which party would they give a vote?

There isn’t any choice to be had

And why is that?

Well, politics is a subject that isn’t taught at primary or secondary school in Japan

The young are largely ignorant of the political processes in Japan and there isn’t a will to teach them otherwise

Add to that any referendum being unanswered when it goes against LDP policy

Democracy is a word that is unknown here

https://twitter.com/tenzinmiyu/status/1647149078978134016?s=46&t=ffAj6x5KOhVqTPO73Vk1zw

look at that. 2-3 rows of “security” behind him, all bunched up, not spread out watching the crowd.

they were so lucky that one guy caught it out of the corner of his eye.

clearly they still do not know how to guard a “VIP.”

I wonder if they would have even ID’d the perp, had the fishermen not taken him down.

most likely, not.

You can bet there will be even tighter security now at the G7 meeting coming up. Don't even fart if you're nearby.

I really hate the thought but could be a planned pr campaign as well because the victim is always in the limelight. The guy sadly will still spend his time in the jail of course...

Japan is a democracy. If citizens want to express their anger, politicians who are elected by citizens have to understand the citizens viewpoint. Otherwise we live in a an authoritarian regime.

no violence please.

Japan cannot stop domestic terrorists,only thing they need is motivation like that Tokyo subway gas attack ,Japan is soft target for terrorists,only thing protecting Japan,it an island

Wow Japan going PSYCHO nuts. Nothing here is normal anymore.

Tensions are starting to mount. Abe's assassination last year seems to be setting off a chain reaction of sorts.

Japan still a very safe place no matter what happenes when compared to other nations. Sure we will se violence from time to time but overall Japan is safe and will always be that way.

Now find out what the motive was and keep democracy alive, cowards like this should never be allowed to change our way of life.

I think that most Japanese are very peaceful and politicians should not be afraid.

Just an idiot looking for attention. Nobody got hurt by his stupid firework stunt. If anything the LDP will benefit from the reminder of Abe incident and sympathy vote.

Don't give him the attention he craves. 3 months in jail to think about his future.

Some sources trying to play it down by calling it only a smoke bomb.

It was a pipe bomb, explosives packed into a steel pipe, much more dangerous, and a miracle only one person was hurt.

NHK video. This guy picked it up. He said it was metal, sealed at either end and weighed about one kilogram. He tried to hand it to the cops, but they told him to put it down.Even the Japanese press is calling it an explosive device. The English press (BBC, Al Jazeera, etc.) is still going with 'smoke bomb'.

【瞬間の映像】筒状のもの投げ込まれ悲鳴 現場にいた人たちは | NHK | 事件

It’s an interesting photograph.

If the perp is the guy in the center, he doesn’t look violent -just young and Japanese.

Instead of going to a quiet fishing town to “stump”, maybe these LDP politicians ought to try listening to the people there.

This smoke bomb is a strong message.

Most Japanese are not violent, they want to be heard, and when push comes to shove, this.

Politicians are supposed to represent the public.

When was the last time you felt represented?

It's plain as day that what the suspect threw was a pipe bomb. He was still trying to light a second one with a lighter when he was tackled by the fishermen and also had a third one on his person. Pipe bombs are meant to mame or kill, not scare, people, and Kishida and everyone there were fortunate that the suspect did a poor job making them. Kimura should be charged with nothing less than attempted murder (assassination).

The most likely outcome is a substantial rise in LDP votes. The opposition may as well pack up and go home.

@Rodney

There is no way that Japan is a proper functioning democracy, for many reasons

Power is far too centralized in Tokyo.

About half of eligible voters don’t bother to vote at all

There is intense voter dissatisfaction with the LDP (seen as the only choice)

Career politicians groom their offspring as future candidates ie nepotism

So called reforms are not decided by referenda but are instituted by only a few, ignoring the legalities of the Japanese constitution.

The legal system in Japan with its high confession rate primarily maintains order not the truth hence the large amount of corruption in the political world

Are Japanese people satisfied with the present system?

Not by a long shot but they cannot see an alternative

There are a lot of unhinged comments in this thread, many which I feel either trivialize or attempt to make a joke out of this situation.

No, Japan is not unsafe, or descending into some kind of civil unrest.

No, this event and the G7 are not related.

Yes, there needs to be more security measures and personnel protecting the PM.

Yes, like all countries, Japan has difficult economic circumstances right now.

But, there is no excuse for violence against any political leaders in Japan or terroristic actions meant to spread fear or disrupt the process of free and fair elections. I would hope people stop trying to use these events as an opportunity to post their "hot take" of the week.

Oh, and one more thing: major props to that based sweatervest Oyaji in the crowd who immediately took action and helped the authorities by bringing that lunatic down to the concrete with an NFL-quality sack.

Maybe politicians will start to become accountable.

Again a young Japanese trying to kill the PM. It is a sad situation showing that youth sees no future.

Violence shall never be the solution but some only see that way as ladt recourse.

Wow, I wonder if a harmless smoke bomb will result in a concomitant landslide win for the LDP, rather than having to actually follow through on Kishida's pledge to prove that the LDP can show results?

And it seems that the easiest job in the world is to be a member of the security detail of the LDP elite.

I used to work for the US Secret Service and must say my Japanese counterparts are really struggling to keep up. Training guys, it’s all about training.

There is a raising wave of anger among young Japanese. In the last two decades young Japanese, thanks to social media and the internet discovered the world outside Japan, and discovered that Japan is not the “perfect country” and the “best country in the world”. They discovered that life outside Japan is better concerning many aspects (such as great work-life balance, woman rights, quality of free time, less stress and better salary). They do not want to be traditional Japanese salarymen anymore, they do not want to spend their life inside crowded trains and Japanese companies doing overtime work and waiting for a cheap pension (the Japanese pension system is in a very difficult status and the low birthrate will increase the problem). In the previous generations, it was easier to say that the world outside Japan was hell and that Japan was paradise. Now, more and more younger Japanese know the real world and hate politicians…..and the most mentally unstable ones become a danger.

Fortunately the Prime Minister was not harmed . . . .

Terrible news!

Japan is not SAFE country anymore.

Second US in making.

Really? US averages 20,000 gun murders per year. How many in Japan?

"Second US in making"? Is this tongue in cheek? Otherwise it's just irrational lunacy.

PS... Glad you clarified "SAFE" with capital letters.

Let's see what turns up, will anyone be surprised if he's been in touch with those seeking to destabilize Japan?!

I commend Wakayama fisherman for their bravery, not sure why my comment on them was pulled?!