"Kishida Assault Evokes Abe Terror... Even the Terror Time Is the Same"

Prime Minister Kishida... Attacked Just Before Speech
Reminiscent of Abe Incident... Similar Terrorism Pattern
Suspicions of 'Kishida Self-Staged Incident' on Japanese SNS

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was attacked during a campaign speech, shocking the entire Japanese archipelago. Professor Lee Young-chae of Keisen Jogakuen University described the local atmosphere in Japan as a "double shock," recalling the shooting death of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe nine months ago.

Earlier, on the 15th, Prime Minister Kishida was attacked during a campaign speech supporting a by-election for the House of Representatives at Saikazaki Fishing Port in Wakayama City, Wakayama Prefecture. Just before the speech, a silver explosive device was thrown in front of Kishida, which detonated 50 seconds after he dodged it.

On the morning of the 15th, a man who threw an object that caused an explosion sound just before Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida began his speech after completing an on-site inspection in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, was being arrested. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

On the 17th, Professor Lee appeared on CBS Radio's "Kim Hyun-jung's News Show" and said, "(The suspect) is a 24-year-old young man named Kimura Ryuji, who probably moved to this area around 2008," adding, "There seems to be no noticeable behavior, and he is somewhat introverted, but testimonies say he was a polite young man to those around him."

Professor Lee pointed out many similarities between this incident and the shooting attack on former Prime Minister Abe. These include the fact that the terrorist weapons were homemade firearms and homemade bombs respectively, the perpetrators were young people, and the attacks occurred around 11:30 a.m.

He said, "We need to observe the background more closely, but there might be some dissatisfaction with the Liberal Democratic Party," adding, "It is speculative, but the form of the attack on former Prime Minister Abe is very similar, and especially among young people, there might be reasons such as dissatisfaction with politics."

Regarding suspicions circulating on Japanese social media that this incident was a staged event by Prime Minister Kishida, he said, "This election is extremely important for Prime Minister Kishida," and added, "When former Prime Minister Abe died, if he had won the election at that time, his return to office might have been possible, but he passed away, and thereafter Kishida gained all those benefits."

On the afternoon of the 8th, when former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was fatally shot, citizens gathered on the roadside near the Yamato-Saidaiji area in Nara City, Nara Prefecture, Japan, the site of the incident, to pay their respects. Photo by Yonhap News

He continued, "Currently, the unified local elections are underway, but in the first half, the Liberal Democratic Party actually lost seats. If there is no good result in the second half, it would be a significant political blow to Prime Minister Kishida," and said, "At this delicate moment, this attack occurred, and on social media, there are many suspicions that this might be an internal staged event intended to change unfavorable election public opinion."

Furthermore, he stated, "Since the security failure involving former Prime Minister Abe, there have been many issues regarding the protection of VIPs in Japan. The Metropolitan Police Department changed all manuals, reviewed procedures, arranged personnel, and conducted training, but a major security gap has appeared again," adding, "There are concerns about whether the upcoming G7 Hiroshima Summit in May can be held safely, whether the security for foreign leaders will be adequate, and whether Japan’s security system for open spaces is fundamentally flawed."