PANIC ensues as prime minister is subject to bomb attack in Japan

THE prime minister of Japan was attacked last night while attending an outdoor conference and was mid-speech when a person in the crowd threw a pipe-shaped object at him.

On Saturday, April 15 Fumio Kishida, the Japanese prime minister was the target of a bomb attack, thankfully he escaped unharmed from the incident, according to The Daily Mail.

News broadcaster NHK reported that a loud explosion was heard, the first minister managed to evade the missile, while police subdued a man at the scene.

The incident is particularly poignant, as less than a year ago Japan was shocked when the former Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, 67, was shot dead by a man with a homemade gun.

This latest incident happened in Wakayama in western Japan, which lies only 60 miles from Nara, where on July 8, 2022, Shinzo Abe, was assassinated. The attack on Abe prompted an emergency review of Japanese security during election campaigns.

Today’s attacker was a young man wearing a black hoodie and khaki pants, was arrested almost immediately.

Kyodo, a local news agency reported that the thrown object was ‘what appeared to be a smoke bomb.’

Footage from the scene showed crowds of people running away as several police officers apprehended an individual and took him into custody.

Following a tour of the fishing harbour in Wakayama, PM Kishida had just commenced giving his speech when the incident occurred.

Eyewitnesses confirmed seeing a ‘cylindrical silver object’ saying it ‘was thrown and then ‘shone a bit before a big sound was heard.’

Next month, Prime Minister Kishida is due to host a G7 leaders’ meeting in Hiroshima.

The assassination of Abe last year stunned his country, where gun ownership is tightly restricted and political violence has been rare for years.

Because crime is so rare in Japan,  where even cell phones and purses are often seen lying unattended in public places, this makes violent incidents like this all the more unusual and shocking,