[WonderMomma]

15 April 2023

1. "NHK reports that Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida evacuated after blast at speech in Wakayama, Kansai region, Southwestern Japan"

2. "Footage shows the moment of the explosion of an alleged bomb where the current Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida was giving a speech"

3. "Footage published by observers show Japanese Prime Minister Kishida being evacuated after an individual threw a smoke bomb towards him. Japanese Police quickly apprehended the suspect after the device was thrown."

[v1r]

Nice find. Hadn't heard anything about this.

[William May]

Originally Posted by v1r ↗

Nice find. Hadn't heard anything about this.

Me, either!
But I saw the smoke!


That's a joke.

[joos]

That sounded pretty concussive for a "smoke bomb". Guy might have succeeded if his fuse wasn't like 20 seconds long.

[WonderMomma]

Originally Posted by WonderMomma ↗

15 April 2023

1. "NHK reports that Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida evacuated after blast at speech in Wakayama, Kansai region, Southwestern Japan"

2. "Footage shows the moment of the explosion of an alleged bomb where the current Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida was giving a speech"

3. "Footage published by observers show Japanese Prime Minister Kishida being evacuated after an individual threw a smoke bomb towards him. Japanese Police quickly apprehended the suspect after the device was thrown."

Adding this tweet and a higher quality video of the incident. The source says it looks like the briefcase was a bulletproof vest or anti-bomb device.

[kellyhound]

A fragment believed to be from an explosive device that was thrown at Prime Minister Fumio Kishida as he was preparing to give an election campaign speech in the city of Wakayama on April 15 was found lodged in a container about 60 meters away, investigative sources have disclosed.

The discovery raises the question of how destructive or lethal the device, believed to be a pipe bomb, was. The Mainichi Shimbun approached firearms researcher Soichiro Takakura, who has viewed video including of a second, similar-looking device found unexploded at the scene.

The fragment that hit the container about 60 meters away from where the first cylindrical explosive device landed is believed to be the device's lid. After viewing video showing the damage to the container, Takakura focused on the fact that the piece flew several dozen meters before making the hole, and said, "The fragment likely had some weight, and if it hit someone at close range, their life probably would have been in danger."

At the same time, Takakura noted that images of the second device showed what appeared to be a metal nut on the device. He said, "It appears that the body of the cylinder and the two lids flew into the air, with only three parts flying out, broadly speaking. A nut may have been attached to fly out and increase its deadly force."

When prefectural police inspected the scene, they found a nut-like object and a number of fragments that appeared to be made of metal near the scene. The cylinder is believed to have hit the wall of the warehouse about 40 meters away from the explosion point due to the impact of the explosion.

According to firearms experts, pipe bombs are made by sealing gunpowder cylinders on both sides, and when ignited, the internal pressure builds up and explodes.

In order to increase the killing power, it is said that nails are put inside and metals are attached to the outside.

Prefectural police confiscated the backpack Kimura was carrying at the time, and confirmed that there was a small bottle containing the powder and a spoon. He may have been carrying gunpowder for explosives, and the ingredients are identified.

The backpack also contained a water bottle filled with liquid, a metal plate about 30 centimeters square, and a disposable lighter. Kimura was holding another lighter when he was arrested, and is believed to have had a total of two lighters, including a spare, to light the bomb.

Kimura filed a lawsuit claiming that it was unfair that he could not run for the House of Councilors election in July last year because of his age and other reasons. also criticized. In a document submitted to the Kobe District Court, he touched on the state funeral that took place in September of the same year, and wrote that he "forced the funeral despite the overwhelming opposition of public opinion."

　Even after meeting with his lawyer, Kimura remained silent about the prefectural police's investigation. The prefectural police are carefully investigating the connection between the lawsuit and the motive.

[kellyhound]

Security officer sweeping away the object with a bulletproof briefcase and foot.

[kellyhound]

The fishermen who tackled the man suspected of the second attack on a Japanese politician in less than a year said Sunday that they were surprised by the lack of security for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Fisherman Tsutomu Konishi was watching Kishida at a campaign event at this fishing port when an object flew overhead and landed near the prime minister, Konishi said. A security officer covered the object with a bulletproof briefcase, said Konishi, 41. The fishermen swarmed the attacker.

“I never thought a crime like this would happen in my hometown, which is a rather small fishing area,” Konishi, 41, said Sunday as he sipped a can of coffee at the port of Saikazaki. “I’m still shocked and stunned."

The prime minister was unhurt but like many others in Japan Konishi was mulling Sunday what the country should do to better protect public figures.

“At a time when Japan’s serving prime minister was visiting, perhaps we may have needed a metal detector,” Konishi said.

Masaki Nishide, a 55-year-old fisherman from Saikazaki, said most of the people at Saturday’s event were residents and supporters of the local candidate. He said the young man carrying the silver-gray backpack stood out.

“People here all dress like me, and nobody carries a backpack; it was only him,” Nishide said, wearing a sweatsuit and red rubber boots. “If I were in charge of security, I would have asked for a bag check.”

After the failed attack on the prime minister, one of the fishermen grabbed the suspect's neck from behind, another pushed his head down, and Konishi latched onto his leg. They were holding the man as police officers pulled him to the ground.

The chaotic scene was reminiscent of the assassination nine months ago of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which also came during a campaign tour. Police tightened their protective measures after an investigation found holes in Abe’s security. Abe was killed with a homemade gun during a campaign speech. Suspect Tetsuya Yamagami has been charged with murder and several other crimes, including violating gun-control laws.

Yamagami told investigators that he killed Abe, one of Japan’s most influential and divisive politicians, because of the former prime minister’s apparent links to a religious group that Yamagami hated. In statements and in social media postings attributed to him, Yamagami said his mother had made donations to the Unification Church that bankrupted his family and ruined his life.

Violent crimes are rare in Japan, and with its strict gun control laws, the country has only a handful of gun-related crimes annually. Most of the cases are gang-related, though in recent years there has been growing concern about home-made guns and explosives. There also have been some high-profile cases of random knifing on subways and arson attacks.

Groups of several officers have guarded serving prime ministers. Fewer officers have been watching Cabinet ministers and former leaders.

Compared with the U.S. elections, audience at political campaigns in Japan are often allowed to be quite close to dignitaries. At the campaign event for Kishida the front-row audience was within touching distance.

Only one person, a police official, was hurt, his arm cut by fragments of the device, which didn't fully explode. Police arrested 24-year-old Ryuji Nakamura on suspicion of throwing an explosive in a metal tube at Kishida.

Police sent a special counter-explosives team to the suspect's home in Hyogo prefecture to search for evidence of bomb-making. There are nationwide local elections this month. and Japan is hosting a series of Group of Seven meetings leading up to the May 19-21 leaders' summit in Hiroshima. Diplomats arrived Sunday for the G-7 foreign ministers' meeting in Karuizawa.

Isao Itabashi, a public safety expert, said on NHK TV that the attack raised questions about how election campaigns are be carried out. Guarding top politicians in campaigns is logistically hard, and balancing tight security with a free election is also difficult, he said.

Kiyotaka Hamada, 70, a senior member of the local fishing association, said he felt something hit his shoulder just as he heard the bang and was running from the scene. Police took his jacket to see if he'd been hit by a fragment of the explosive.

“I just want to ask the suspect why he had to come here to make trouble," he said.

For Hamada and other fishermen, there's worry also about the expected loss of income from the days they cannot work while the port facilities are closed for the investigation.

“We put so much effort throughout the village to welcome the prime minister here on his first ever visit,” Hamada said. “Now we cannot even go out to sea.”

[kellyhound]

Powder believed to be gunpowder was found at the home of Ryuji Kimura, 24, an unemployed man from Kawanishi City, Hyogo Prefecture, who was arrested on suspicion of forcible obstruction of business in connection with an incident in which an explosive device was thrown at Prime Minister Kishida's campaign speech venue in Wakayama City on the 15th. and metal canisters were found to have been seized.

It was also found that the cylinder that exploded flew about 40 meters. The Wakayama Prefectural Police suspected that it was a homemade pipe bomb, and will investigate whether it has the ability to kill, with a view to applying for attempted murder.

Prefectural police found powder believed to be the raw material for gunpowder at Kimura's home. About 90 items, including metal tubes that may have been used in pipe bombs and tools, have been seized.

During an on-site inspection of the fishing port where the speech was held, a cylinder was found on the net covering the "fish tank" about 35 meters away from the point of the explosion. There were traces of a cylinder hitting the outer wall of the warehouse about 5 meters away.

It is possible that the cylinder that was blown off by the impact of the explosion passed over the heads of about 200 spectators, hit the warehouse, and fell into the net of the fish tank.