Pipe bomb attack in April
Charged with assassinating Japan’s prime minister
09/06/2023 08:37
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Almost a year after the fatal assassination attempt on the former head of government of Japan, Shinzo Abe, one of his successors is also the target of an attack: the incumbent Prime Minister Fumio Kishida survives an attack with a pipe bomb unharmed, the alleged perpetrator is now being charged.
A man has been charged with attempted murder in Japan after a pipe bomb attack during an election campaign appearance by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in April. Charges have been brought against 24-year-old Ryuji K., said a spokeswoman for the district court in Wakayama. K. was arrested in April after he threw a pipe bomb at the head of government. Kishida was unharmed in the attack, two people were slightly injured.
After the attack on Kishida, the police found suspected gunpowder, pipe-like objects and tools in the suspect’s apartment. K. has been silent since his arrest, as reported by the NHK radio station. He reportedly underwent a three-month psychiatric evaluation before being charged. Before his crime, he had sued the government over the minimum age for standing for elections in Japan. Now the public prosecutor’s office came to the conclusion that the accused was ready for a trial – and the bomb could have had deadly consequences.
The incident came less than a year after the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Abe was shot at at a campaign event. Tetsuya Yamagami, who was 41 at the time of the crime, was overpowered by security forces immediately after the deadly attack on Abe, and he later confessed to the crime. Charges were brought against Yamagami in January of this year. Japanese law allows the death penalty for murder, but it is usually only given for multiple murders. Yamagami could face life imprisonment if convicted.