Smoke bomb thrown at Japan PM Fumio Kishida during election campaign event

What appeared to be a smoke bomb was thrown at Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Saturday during his visit to the western city of Wakayama for a stump speech.

Kishida left the scene unhurt after the incident, which took place as he was speaking with a candidate of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

An explosion-like sound was heard at the scene, NHK reported, adding that Kishida took cover at the site of the explosion and remained safe.

News footage appeared to show officers subduing and detaining a man as people cleared the area.

NHK said Kishida was beginning a speech after touring a fishing harbour in Wakayama when the incident occurred.

The attack came months after a man was indicted on charges of murder and violating the firearms control law for fatally shooting ex-Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe during an election campaign speech in 2022.

Tetsuya told investigators that he held a grudge against the Unification Church and targeted Abe because he was a grandson of former prime minister Nobusuke Kishi, who helped the controversial religious group set up a Japanese chapter.

He has said his mother’s large donations to the organisation, established in South Korea by a staunch anti-communist in 1954, left his family in financial ruin.

Yamagami’s mother became a believer of the group, known for its mass weddings and aggressive donation solicitations, in the early 1990s and provided donations totalling roughly 100 million yen (US$747,000).

Abe, Japan’s longest-serving leader, died on July 8 after being shot at close range while giving a campaign speech in the western Japan city of Nara two days ahead of the upper house election. Yamagami was arrested on the spot.