Suspect indicted for attempted murder of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida

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The person believed to be responsible for an attempted assassination of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Japan earlier this year was indicted on attempted murder Wednesday, according to a report.

Prosecutors indicted Ryuji Kimura, 24, on attempted murder and other charges after he allegedly threw a pipe bomb at the country’s leader in April, as he was campaigning in the fishing port of Saikazaki, in the western Japanese city of Wakayama, Japanese media reported.

The incident injured two people, although Kishida was unhurt, officials said. Kimura was wrestled to the ground and subsequently arrested at the scene.

The explosive attack came about a year after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated while campaigning for elections on July 8, 2022. Both attacks were isolated incidents, carried out by a lone attacker using a homemade weapon.

SUSPECT IN JAPAN PM PIPE BOMB ATTACK WANTED TO BE A POLITICIAN, ANGRY HE WAS BLOCKED FROM RUNNING, REPORT SAYS

A man who was later identified as Ryuji Kimura is arrested after what appeared to be a pipe bomb was thrown at Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during his visit at a port in Wakayama, western Japan, on April 15, 2023. Prosecutors in Japan indicted the 24-year-old man Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023 on attempted murder and other charges in the explosive attack on Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in April, Japanese media reported.  (Kyodo News via AP)

The indictment comes after Kimura underwent a three-month psychiatric evaluation and prosecutors ultimately determined that he is mentally fit for trial, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported.

Authorities also analyzed the explosive used in the attack — a homemade pipe bomb — and determined it was lethal.

According to Kyodo, court records show Kimura may have launched the attack as he wanted to be a politician but believed that he was unfairly blocked from running for Japan’s parliament in 2022 elections by an age requirement.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida waves as he visits a port in Wakayama, western Japan to cheer his ruling party’s candidate in a local election, on April 15, 2023. Prosecutors in Japan indicted the 24-year-old man Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023 on attempted murder and other charges in the explosive attack on Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in April, Japanese media reported.  (Kyodo News via AP)

A candidate must be aged 30 years or older and present a $22,260 deposit to run for the Upper House, the less powerful of Japan’s two-chamber parliament. He was 23 at the time.

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Kimura, who police said is unemployed, filed a lawsuit in June 2022 with the Kobe District Court claiming that he should have been allowed to register for the July 2022 Upper House election, according to Kyodo News. 

Court records show Kimura argued that the election system that blocked his candidacy was unconstitutional, the reports said.

Japanese media including NHK public television reported Kimura demanded the government pay $740 in compensation for his psychological anguish.

Members of the Japan information and study centre hold a candlelight vigil to pay tribute to the late former prime minister of Japan Shinzo Abe, at Ahmedabad Management Association in Ahmedabad on July 9, 2022, after Abe was shot dead during a campaign speech on July 8 in Nara.  (SAM PANTHAKY/AFP via Getty Images)

His social media posts also express animus towards Japan’s political climate, per the report.

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The attacks on Abe and Kishida had reverberations around Japan, where gun and bomb violence is exceedingly rare. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.