Attack in Japan raises alarm about VIP security weeks before G7 summit

An explosive thrown at Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at an election rally on Saturday has raised worrisome questions about VIP protection less than a year after a former premier was shot and weeks before Japan meets G7 leaders.

A flaming metal cylinder fell within a metre of Kishida during a Wakayama City fishing harbor by-election campaign event.

As police and onlookers restrained a suspect, Kishida was carried away. Small gadget exploded seconds later. Media reported two minor injuries.

Four experts interviewed by Reuters said the incident shows Japan’s security system’s flaws and failure to adjust after former prime minister Shinzo Abe’s election campaign killing last year.

“There is no doubt that it was a security failure because the prime minister was giving his speech at the worst possible place where he couldn’t possibly be protected,” said Nihon University crisis management terrorist professor Mitsuru Fukuda.

“In light of (Abe’s) shooting, police have said their security plans would be reviewed and revised, but I don’t think they are implementing any of these measures,” he said.

Abe’s murder by a man with a handmade gun shocked Japan, where gun violence is rare, and prompted a reconsideration of politicians’ security practices, who often interact with the public.

“Turning Point”
The Wakayama explosion occurred during Kishida and Japan’s hosting of Group of Seven ministerial meetings this week and a leaders’ summit in Hiroshima, Kishida’s home constituency, in May.

Fukuda stated large police forces can secure large international events. However, less formal activities can reveal flaws.

“We are at a turning point where Japan needs to change its awareness and security system because the possibility of being targeted is increasing,” Fakuda said.

On Monday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno announced that the National Police Agency had approved the security plan for the weekend event in Wakayama.

He stated that the administration has ordered authorities to increase security at VIP events.

When Abe was shot last July, Kishida and other administration officials recognized security vulnerabilities. read on

According to media accounts, Saturday’s suspect was 10 meters from Kishida.

The premier was served a special seafood dinner before the attack, and broadcast footage showed Kishida staring toward an outdoor parking area with the throng behind him in a roofed cage.

A flaming canister rolls near Kishida in one video. As security agents cluster around Kishida and force him toward a parking lot, one blocks the device with a bulletproof briefcase and kicks it away.

Extremely dangerous
After the device was hurled, a spectator held a young man in a headlock, while another bystander grabbed the suspect around the waist as police swarmed and took him to the ground, videos revealed.

“There’s no doubt this was an extremely dangerous incident,” said Katsuhiko Ikeda, former Tokyo police superintendent general.

It showed the National Police Agency’s security plan evaluation was limited.

“A big factor is whether the forces on the ground can make the correct decision in every eventuality, and have the proper sense of crisis,” he said.

Top politicians should appear indoors with bag inspections and metal detectors, said Council for Public Policy Chief Analyst Isao Itabashi.

“The biggest issue here was that an explosive device made its way in,” he said. “The lessons from Abe’s incident haven’t been applied.”

Media reported that the incident was a smoke bomb, however investigations and a search of the suspect’s residence revealed pipe bomb materials.

A fisherman told the Asahi newspaper that the boom hurt his back. NHK stated that a roof 40 meters from the explosion contained part of the explosive device.