Japan PM urges better security after blast
Japan needs to increase security as Group of Seven officials visit, the country's prime minister said on Sunday, a day after an explosive was thrown at him during a campaign event. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida escaped unharmed after the device, reportedly a homemade pipe bomb, was thrown towards him as he campaigned in the western city of Wakayama. A 24-year-old man was arrested, but has so far revealed nothing about his motives in the attack, which came as Japan hosts two G7 ministerial meetings. "At a time when high-ranking officials from all over the world are visiting... Japan as a whole needs to maximise its efforts to ensure security and safety," Kishida told reporters. "It's unforgivable such a violent act was committed during an election campaign," he added. He said he expected police to step up security measures in the wake of the incident, which came less than a year after Japan's former prime minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated by a gunman in the western city of Nara. His killing sent shockwaves through the country, and prompted an overhaul of security around public officials. Kishida was about to deliver a speech at a fishing port in Wakayama when Saturday's incident occurred. Footage from the scene showed a metal canister being thrown from within a small crowd behind him, and the prime minister turning before being surrounded and led away by security. Security officials and civilians at the scene quickly detained a man, whom local media have named as 24-year-old Ryuji Kimura from Hyogo region, also in western Japan. As Kimura was detained, a large blast sounded and white smoke filled the air, with people in the crowd screaming and running away. A local fisherman who helped detain Kimura said he picked up a pipe-shaped object at the scene. "I picked up this metal thing and wanted to hand it to a police officer. But he told me, 'Just put it down! Leave it there,'" he told national broadcaster NHK. Local media reports said Kimura, who was arrested on suspicion of obstruction of business, has so far refused to speak to investigators. (AFP)