Japan: Man Who Threw Homemade Pipe Bomb at Former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Convicted and Sentenced to 10 Years, Reports Say
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. A Japanese court on Wednesday convicted a man who threw a homemade pipe bomb at Japan's former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at a 2023 campaign event, sentencing him to 10 years in prison, according to local media reports.
Tokyo, February 19: A Japanese court on Wednesday convicted a man who threw a homemade pipe bomb at Japan's former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at a 2023 campaign event, sentencing him to 10 years in prison, according to local media reports. Ryuji Kimura, 25, was charged with attempted murder for the April 15, 2023 attack on Kishida at a small fishing port in the western city of Wakayama, as well as four other charges including violations of laws on explosives and other weapons.
In the ruling, the Wakayama District Court sentenced Kimura to 10 years in prison, according to Japan's public television and other media, without specifying which of the five charges he was found guilty of. The court did not immediately confirm the ruling by phone. Kimura, at an opening session of the trial in early February, pleaded not guilty to attempted murder, saying he didn't intend to kill Kishida. Fumio Kishida Withdraws From Party Leadership Race: Japanese PM Tells His Ruling Party LDP He Will Not Run in Its September Leadership Vote.
The then-prime minister was unhurt, but two people sustained minor injuries. Kimura was arrested on the spot. The attack came about a year after the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a campaign speech in Nara, another city in western Japan.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)