On 15 April, a sudden attack on the prime minister of Japan occurred at Saigasaki Port in Wakayama City. As Fumio Kishida walked out in front of a group of people to deliver a speech in support of a candidate in a local election, a type of pipe bomb was tossed at him from the crowd.
Although the attack had some eerie similarities to last year’s assassination of former PM Shinzo Abe, Kishida was luckily able to escape unharmed while the attacker was swiftly apprehended by security personnel. However, even faster than the bodyguards was a pair of brave fishermen who just happened to be in the right place at the right time.
▼ News footage of the incident
One of the fishermen, 67-year-old Masami Terai, was watching Kishida as he was about to take the podium when he saw a man attempting to light something in his hands and throw it. At the same time, another unidentified 70-year-old fisherman shouted “This guy!” to alert security and jumped on the 24-year-old attacker, putting him in a chokehold. Terai then helped to secure the struggling attacker’s legs before guards took over. Their heroic efforts were shown to be even more crucial when their fast reaction prevented any chance of the attacker throwing a second bomb that was also in his possession.
Although mainly two fisherman were involved, it was the 70-year-old that could be most easily seen on news cameras thanks to his very eye-catching attire of a bright red shirt with a snowflake-print vest. In fact, in the aftermath of the incident, many online were left wondering: “What is he wearing?”
It didn’t take long for Internet sleuths to track down the source of the vest as none other than Workman, a popular chain selling workwear and other practical clothing. This particular item is the Winter-Wind-Proof Shell Vest that sold for 1,780 yen, but according to the Workman website is not currently available.
▼ This tweet from Workman shows it in stock in 2021
It is unclear whether the item had been discontinued for a while or the remaining stock suddenly sold out because of the news. As some of the following online comments point out, either scenario is possible.
“It’s very Japanese that the vest worn by the fisherman who apprehended the terrorist sells out.”
“I’ve had a Workman vest for five years and they work really well.”
“I’m glad everything worked out all right.”
”Workman really got a nice windfall out of this.”
“I’m sure at least one person will cosplay as the fisherman at the next Comiket.”
“They need to re-release this as the ‘hero vest.’”
“Workman doesn’t usually restock the same items either…bummer.”
“There’s a chance the fisherman will be targeted in retaliation. We should all dress like him as decoys.”
“It’s pretty ugly though…”
Sources: News Post Seven, Mainichi News, Sankei News, Hachima Kiko
Read more stories from SoraNews24.
-- Mr. Sato goes fishing for compliments with the new Harajuku fashion: A fishing vest?!?
-- Japanese fishermen start morning wake-up call service to help you get your lazy butt out of bed
- External Link
- https://soranews24.com/2023/04/18/heroic-fisherman-who-caught-pm-kishidas-attacker-now-a-fashion-icon/
31 Comments
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David Brent
Interesting translation of この野郎!
finally rich
At first glance I knew the guy was wearing Workman.
Their shops have really nice outfit for bikers, hikers, joggers, campers, surfers, climbers etc. and for even cheaper than your average Uniqlo.
WA4TKG
My Go To store ( and probably yours) whenever I was working any Ko’ji type jobs.
Congratulations, you’re a celebrity now.
kiwi07
Thanks. I haven't seen the Japanese news version, so my first thought was, "what precisely did he actually say in Japanese? He7s a fisherman, so I'm sure it was something colorful."
kyushubill
Workman, when the job calls for being a bad ass.
tamanegi
Good on you Mr Terai. It was a very brave thing that you did. Hope your mates shouted you a few drinks later and that the Japanese government recognize your actions.
Zizi
I thought he was a bit heavy handed
virusrex
Nobody was injured because of the fortunate ineptitude of the criminal making a botched bomb and the bravery of the civilians that incapacitated him long before the security arrived. None of these two things were achieved thanks to the security, which has been criticized by the experts as a show of how the whole system is still terribly insifufficient and lacking even elementary measures.
virusrex
What is disputed (by the experts in the topic) is that the changes resulted in any significative improvement of the security, obviously they were not enough to prevent the attack. The civilian this article is about made much more to prevent the second bomb from being used than anything the security detail did about it.
raincloud
Although Workman is great, shouldn't we be focusing more on these two men's heroic deed?
I know too many people who would have just looked on with a "don't rock the boat" attitude. This country needs more people like these two, willing to stand up and take actions based on what is directly in front of them.
Oh, and I personally would have translated "この野郎" as... well no, wait, I'd better not say type it here...!
japancat
"この野郎"....probably translates to something like "This bar steward !" Lol
1glenn
It is heartening to see everyday people stepping up to save the day.
ClippetyClop
Agreed!
Working outdoors all day in the forests and hills I used to spend hundreds on fancy outdoor brands that would get torn to shreds in a few months. Workman make heavy duty stuff that lasts and at a good price.
And they always have lots of pockets, I like pockets.
gcFd1
Actually the NPA revised police coordination immediately after Abe's assassination. Intelligence monitoring was enhanced for example, and the local police make more thorough reviews at the sites of speeches.
It is the politicians decision to be among the public. The politicians, not the police, put their schedule online.
The police are responsible for making sure the politicians are not injured or killed under those conditions, and since Abe, they have a perfect record.
wallace
RKL
Only the Japanese security authorities would know. There are no Japanese insiders.
virusrex
What prevented injuries or deaths was not the complete ineptitude of the security detail that allowed the attack to happen, but the bravery of the fisherman of the article and the ineptitude of the criminal while making the bomb. When not even a simple bag check was performed there is not really a lot of "fast thinking" going around.
virusrex
This incident could have become a source of pride for the security detail by preventing it from happening, but instead it became a shame for them. At least there was someone in the public that reacted on time to fill the gap, who knows what the second bomb could have caused.
virusrex
No, that was still the product of the civilians actions. By the time the security was involved the criminal was already subdued and the second bomb no longer a threat.
According to he experts in security that have expressed their professional opinion about the incident this is false, this was an example of insufficient, badly botched security that did not have even basic measures that would have prevented the incident from even happening, like a simple bag check step.
virusrex
What is clear is that the changes were completely ineffective. And have prevented exactly zero incidents from happening.
It is terribly easy to find are the opnions of experts saying the Japanese security for political figures is severely lacking, is as easy as to just see this site articles saying precisely this.
https://japantoday.com/category/national/attack-in-japan-raises-alarm-about-vip-security-weeks-before-g7-summit
Roxy Music
I keep looking for the vest but can't find it. Credit to the quick thinking fisherman, and also Kushida's fast thinking security detail who made sure no one was injured. There was a considerably larger police presence compared to Abe's last speech, as a result of significant changes.
Roxy Music
Have to praise the NPA. Even though politicians are out and about and so clise to crowds, their updated security measures made sure no incidents took place in over a year, and in the recent one, new techniques were deployed that prevented injury and ensured arrest. Experts agree that the quickly implemented updates to security protocols are the reason for the increased safety.
virusrex
Again, the NPA did not do anything that prevented injury, nor improved on the security over past years where nothing happened either. Catching zero out of zero terrorist that tried something is not an improvement. And depending on civilians to do their work (not being capable of even doing a simple bag check) is not something worth praising.
The experts are very clear, the NPA is doing a terrible work with the security of political figures, so much that a humble fisherman had to do their job for them and catch the criminal before he could throw a second bomb.
CPTOMO
I'm happy for the fisherman's new found fame that resulted from this unavoidable event.
Good to see civilians taking action though, but also good security prevented the second bomb from going off, and prevented any injuries. Good overall preparation by security,
Roxy Music
it is clear as others pointed out that Japan made immediate changes to their security. As a result, no one has been injured by an attack at a political event since Abe. This is all factual information easy to look up. And easy to throw red herrings at apparently,mlooking at the above.
CPTOMO
I'm still on the fence about whether I'm going to buy the vest.
Right; not just factual, but not even worth disputing.
TokyoLiving
I love you Japan, please never change..
Roxy Music
Japan security were all over the perpetrator, as they learned from the Abe assasination, and changed their tactics, so nobody was injured in this extremely rare incident.
Roxy Music
Again, of course the NPA did somethng to prevent injury. The experts are clear. Security protocols changed quickly and the result is no injuries or deaths since the Abe shooting. The NPA has a higher success rate than the vaccine.
Roxy Music
Security experts are noting that they do not see any problems with security for the G7 leaders in Japan because they will be in a completely different environment than Kishida was in.