Suspect in ‘pipe bomb’ attack on Japanese PM had sued government

The suspect who threw a smoke bomb towards Fumio Kishida on Saturday has previously sued the government.

He had a history of seeking damages from the government and claimed that he was unfairly barred from running for the Upper House election, according to reports.

Japan’s Yomiuri newspaper reported that suspect Ryuji Kimura filed a lawsuit in the Kobe district court last June and claimed he could not run for the election held on 10 July last year due to his age and inability to prepare a three million yen (£18,000) deposit.

The report said that the 24-year-old had sought 100,000 yen (approximately £600) in damages for his mental anguish.

Mr Kimura claimed the election law violates the constitution, which stipulates equality under the law among other provisions.

He also appealed to the Osaka High Court against this ruling and a decision was scheduled for May 2023, the report said.

A Wakayama prefectural police investigator, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of departmental rules, told local media that Mr Kishida was safely evacuated on Saturday. Only one person, a police official, was injured, his arm cut by fragments of the suspected tube bomb, which didn’t fully explode.

Police sent a special counter-explosives team to the suspect’s home in Kawanishi City in Hyogo prefecture to search for evidence of bomb-making. Japanese police have confiscated metal tubes, tools and possible gunpowder from the home of the suspect as investigators examine a possibility the alleged attacker used a homemade tube bomb, rekindling concern about the growing threat of easy-to-make weapons in the country.

Mr Kimura has, so far, not been charged yet, reports said.

Saturday’s attack took place at the Saikazaki fishing harbour in Wakayama prefecture just as Mr Kishida was about to deliver his speech after touring the harbour.

The speech was scheduled for 11.40am local time, according to Mr Kishida’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

Isao Itabashi, a public safety expert, said on NHK TV that the latest attack should be taken seriously because the loss of the prime minister could paralyze the country’s administrative functions and “possibly shake international confidence in Japan”.

Mr Itabashi also said the attack raised questions over how election campaigns should be carried out. Guarding top politicians in campaigns is logistically hard, and balancing tight security with a free election is also difficult, he said.

Additional reporting from agencies.