File picture showing Ryuji Kimura being tackled by police after he threw "the suspicious object," as Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited Saikazaki port for an election campaign event in Wakayama on April 15, 2023. - Kyodo News via AP
TOKYO:A Japanese court on Wednesday (Feb 19) 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 found guilty of attempted murder in the April 15, 2023 attack on Kishida at a small fishing port in the western city of Wakayama, as well as four other crime including violations of laws on explosives and other weapons, according to Kyodo News.
At stake was whether Kimura had a murder intent.
The Wakayama District Court said in the ruling that Kimura was aware of the potential for a fatality in his attack, Kyodo said.
The court said the attack at an election campaign event was a serious challenge to democracy and it also posed a significant danger to many people. 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. He said he was dissatisfied with Japan’s election system and that he only wanted to get public attention by targeting a famous politician.
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.
Prosecutors said Kimura had a murder intent, noting that the bomb Kimura threw at Kishida was potentially lethal, and demanded a 15-year prison term.
Gun-related crime is rare in Japan because of strict gun control laws, but there has been a series of high-profile knifings and other attacks using homemade guns and explosives. - AP
