© Reuters. Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivers a speech to support his ruling party’s candidate in a local election, near a train station in Wakayama, Wakayama prefecture, southwestern Japan, on April 15, 2023, in This photo posted by Kyodo. required credit
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Sunday that Japan should do all it can to ensure security as foreign dignitaries gather for meetings of the Group of Seven industrial powers and prepare for a summit on next month.
The Japanese leader was evacuated unharmed on Saturday after a suspect threw what appeared to be a smoke bomb at an outdoor speech in western Japan on Saturday.
Speaking to reporters, Kishida said that Japan should not allow acts of violence that attack the foundations of democracy.
Kishida’s bomb threat was a chilling reminder of the assassination last July of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was shot with a homemade weapon while campaigning for parliamentary elections.
Japanese politicians are campaigning for the April 23 by-election for the lower house of parliament.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said on Saturday police had been instructed to increase security and the government would do what was necessary to ensure security when Kishida hosted the G7 summit in Hiroshima in May.
The G7 foreign ministers meet on Sunday for a meeting in the resort city of Karuizawa, while the group’s environment and energy ministers will meet this weekend in Sapporo in northern Japan.