New Delhi: A loud explosion occurred at a western Japanese port during Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s visit, but there were no injuries, news agency PTI reported. Kishida was visiting the Saikazaki port in Wakayama prefecture to cheer his ruling party’s candidate in a local election.

There was an explosion just before he was to begin his speech, PTI quoted NHK as saying. A man believed to be a suspect was apprehended at the scene, and NHK footage showed several uniformed and plainclothes police officers gathered around the man and pressing him to the ground.

An apparent ‘smoke bomb’ was hurled at the PM ahead of his scheduled speech at the Saikazaki Port in Wakayama prefecture, news agency IANS quoted local media Kyodo News as saying.

The Prime Minister was campaigning for a lower house by-election for the Wakayama No. 1 district. The incident comes nine months after Kishida’s predecessor, Shinzo Abe, was assassinated while delivering a campaign speech.

Shinzo Abe’s Assasination

Shinzo Abe, 67, was shot from behind in Nara in western Japan while giving a campaign speech. He was airlifted to a hospital but was not breathing and his heart had stopped. He was pronounced dead later at the hospital. Abe was Japan’s longest-serving leader before stepping down in 2020 for health reasons.

Shinzo was speaking at a program in the city of Nara at 11:30 a.m. local time in Japan. The assailant fired at that time. Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, fell to the ground. He was admitted to the hospital in a bloody condition. The assassin was immediately arrested.

The whole world mourned over the deadly attack in Japan’s city of Nara. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also mourned the loss of ‘dear friend’ Shinzo Abe. Modi declared a day of national mourning on Saturday over the death of the former Japanese prime minister. The Prime Minister announced this on Twitter after Shinzo’s death.