TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was evacuated from a speech site after a blast was heard around and smoke filled the area on Saturday, local media reported.
According to National broadcaster NHK and other media, the PM was safe, and a person has been apprehended at the scene at a port in Wakayama in western Japan.
Media reported that the Prime Minister was evacuated safely from the public event after what appeared to be a smoke bomb thrown at him. Kishida had been due to deliver a speech in Wakayama. A witness told media they saw a person throwing something at the PM, followed by smoke, while another said it followed a big bang.
A video showed officers piling on top of a person, supposedly the suspect.
The police made the arrest but have so far declined to comment further on the situation. Japan’s public broadcaster NHK showed footages in which crowds of people can bee seen running away from the crime scene. The video also showed people swarming around a person, holding him down, and then carrying him away.
Mr Kishida had just started delivering speech after touring the fishing harbour in the area when the object was hurled and he took cover. A woman at the scene told national broadcaster NHK: “I was stunned. My heart is still beating fast.” Another witness said that the crowd began to disperse in panic after the blast as someone said an explosive had been thrown. The incident comes after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot dead while on a campaign trail last year.
