Attempted assassination of Fumio Kishida
On 15 April 2023, a pipe bomb exploded near Fumio Kishida, the 101st Prime Minister of Japan, who came to the fishing port of Saikazaki, Wakayama, Wakayama Prefecture, in the Kansai region to give a campaign stump speech for the 2023 Japan by-elections.
| Saikazaki bombing | |
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Above: Saikazaki fishing port photographed from the opposite shore.（The structure in the center of the image is where Kishida was attacked. Photo taken November 18, 2018.） Below: Fumio Kishida gives a press conference the next day regarding the explosion incident. | |
Map around Saikazaki fishing port | |
| Native name | 岸田首相襲撃事件 (Prime Minister Kishida attack incident) 首相演説会場爆発物事件 (Prime Minister's speech venue bomb incident) |
| Location | Saikazaki fishing port, Saikazaki, Wakayama, Kansai region, Japan |
| Coordinates | 34°11′20.1″N 135°08′41.4″E |
| Date | 15 April 2023 c. 12:30 pm (JST, UTC+9) |
| Target | Fumio Kishida |
Attack type | Explosion by pipe bomb projectile |
| Weapons | Pipe bomb (30 cm) |
| Deaths | 0 |
| Injured | 2 |
| Accused | Ryūji Kimura (Japanese: 木村 隆二) |
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Ministerial career President of the Liberal Democratic Party
Elections
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Just before Kishida was to give a stump speech, a man threw a pipe bomb. The man who threw the object was captured by local fishermen. Kishida was not injured, because he was evacuated at the moment the pipe bomb was thrown. Fifty seconds after the bomb was thrown, it exploded, injuring two people.
The suspect, 24-year-old Ryūji Kimura (Japanese: 木村 隆二), was dissatisfied with the judiciary system over suffrage and demand deposit and asked lawyer Kenji Utsunomiya to represent him.