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The Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida was evacuated unharmed on Saturday after what appeared to be a smoke bomb was thrown towards him.
According to public broadcaster NHK and government officials, a masked male suspect was arrested at the scene by police at the port of Saikazaki in Wakayama prefecture. Kishida was on the campaign trail ahead of local elections.
Hirokazu Matsuno, the chief cabinet secretary, condemned the incident and said the police were investigating the motive of the suspect, reported to be a 24-year-old man, after he was arrested on charges of “forcible obstruction of business”. Local police officials declined to comment.
The explosion came less than a year after a gunman assassinated Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-serving former prime minister, during a campaign speech in the western city of Nara. The killing last July stunned a nation where violence is rare and prompted the resignation of Japan’s national police chief amid calls to strengthen security measures for politicians.
Footage by NHK on Saturday showed bystanders screaming and running away following the explosion, which occurred at around 11:30 in the morning.
“Something that looked like a black cylinder flew by so I got scared and ran away very quickly,” a female witness told NHK. “There was a big noise ten seconds later and my child cried. My heart is still beating fast.”
According to a government official, Kishida was briefly evacuated to Wakayama police headquarters but he resumed his campaign activity soon afterwards.
“The police are now investigating the details, but I apologise for the concerns and trouble caused for so many people,” Kishida said at a stump speech in front of Wakayama station in the early afternoon, as he continued to campaign. “But this is an important election for the country and we must see it to the end.”
With Kishida’s popularity rising following his surprise visit to Ukraine last month, analysts had said the prime minister was likely to call a snap election if the ruling Liberal Democratic party delivered a strong performance at the local elections.
The incident is expected to bring further scrutiny to Japan’s security measures as the country prepares to chair the G7 summit in Kishida’s hometown of Hiroshima next month.
Matsuno told reporters on Saturday that the government had asked the National Police Agency to reinforce protection of G7 dignitaries. G7 environment and foreign ministers are also meeting in Japan in the coming days.
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