Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was evacuated from a campaign event on Saturday after a smoke bomb was thrown at him. The suspect was detained, reports the international press.

Authorities detained the man on the spot, Japanese media reported. Video from the scene shows the participants attacking the man after he threw the fumigant.

Kishida gave a speech in support of the Liberal Democratic Party candidate ahead of local elections scheduled for April 23.

After the eviction, Kishida moved on to another campaign event in the area. “I’m sorry to cause concern,” he said during a speech after the evacuation.

“Now we have important elections. We have to work together to overcome this,” he said.

So far, what is known about the attacker

According to witnesses of the incident, the kidnapped man was 20-30 years old. He was caught just after he threw what looked like a smoke grenade, followed by a loud explosion and white smoke.

In July 2022, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot dead during a speech in support of the Upper House election in the city of Nara.

In that incident, defendant Tetsuya Yamagami, who is accused of murder, approached Abe from behind and fired two shots from an improvised weapon.

Saturday’s incident comes amid heightened security in the run-up to the G-7 summit in Hiroshima in May. (news.ro)