Suspect in blast incident targeting Japan's Kishida sent to prosecutor's office - Reports
17 Apr 2023 02:53pm
Suspect Ryuji Kimura (L), who threw an explosive toward Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, leaves Wakayama Nishi Police Station in Wakayama on April 17, 2023 - AFP
MOSCOW - A 24-year-old man, Kimura Ryuji, detained after an attack on Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, has been sent to a prosecutor's office in Wakayama Prefecture, still refusing to testify, reported Sputnik.
On Saturday, as Kishida was touring a venue ahead of a stump speech in Wakayama, a young man from the crowd threw a cylindrical object toward him, which was followed by the sound of an explosion and the smell of smoke. The prime minister was unharmed. The assailant held another cylindrical object in his hands. Both bombs were recovered from the scene.
The police said that the explosive devices, used by the suspect, might have been pipe bombs made of metal, which is evidenced by the materials and tools found at his house, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported. It is still unclear whether the bombs were designed to be lethal.
Kimura is suspected of a "forceful attempt to interfere with the work process," and has still remained silent, the report said.
The incident took place less than a year after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was fatally shot while speaking during his campaign speech in Nara Prefecture on July 8, 2022 - BERNAMA
