Prime Minister Fumio Kishida escaped unharmed on Saturday after a loud explosion rang out just moments ahead of a planned speech in the city of Wakayama.

Before he was whisked away by security personnel, a cylindrical object was thrown and landed about 1 meter from where the prime minister was standing as he was about to begin a stump speech at a port, reports said. As police and what appeared to be bystanders subdued the suspect, a loud explosion was heard, and white smoke rose from the site.

A video posted to Twitter shows an object land near Kishida and others as what appears to be a member of his security detail from the Metropolitan Police Department quickly covers and pushes the prime minister away from the scene.

https://twitter.com/gmix560/status/1647107174651547651

As police and what appeared to be bystanders subdued the suspect, a loud explosion was heard, and white smoke rose from the site.

Investigators confiscated two cylindrical objects from the scene, said to be 20 cm to 30 cm long and resembling steel pipes. The objects are believed to be explosive devices.

One exploded during the incident, shattering the cylinder, while the other was seized by a police officer as the suspect, Ryuji Kimura, a 24-year-old from Kawanishi, Hyogo Prefecture, was being held down. The suspect has so far not responded to police questioning but has said he will talk once his lawyer arrives.

The suspect was 10 meters away from Kishida among a crowd of around 200 people when he threw the device.

One officer at the scene sustained minor injuries following the incident.

Video footage showed people at Saikazaki Fishing Port in Wakayama running for shelter at around 11:25 a.m., while a man was subdued first by what appeared to be two local fishermen.

Kishida was visiting the port for a speech to support a Liberal Democratic Party candidate for a by-election later this month. The incident began as he was speaking with a candidate of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

Security at the port was handled by personnel from the Wakayama Prefectural Police Headquarters and Wakayama Nishi Police Station, along with a security detail from the Metropolitan Police Department.

Kishida proceeded with the rest of his scheduled campaign stops. After the incident in Saikazaki, he made a speech in front of Wakayama Station at around 1 p.m.

“Right now, we are in the midst of an important election campaign,” Kishida said in front of the station. “We need to continue on with the help of all of you.”

The prime minister spoke again in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, at around 5 p.m. but he did not mention the incident in Wakayama.

No major security reinforcements appeared to be in place in Urayasu, with the large crowd able to get close to listen to the prime minister’s speech. Chiba Prefectural Police, together with plainclothes security personnel, were stationed around the area.

While the LDP candidate in the upcoming by-election, Arfiya Eri, mentioned several times during her speech that Japan shouldn’t give in to violence, Kishida avoided any direct mention of the Wakayama incident in his 10-minute speech. Instead, he offered strong words of support for Eri and appealed to constituents by touting his accomplishments and policy proposals.

He later spoke in Ichikawa, also in Chiba, where the audience was kept at a distance from the prime minister and heavier security enforcement was put in place. After the speech, in which he also didn’t mention the incident in Wakayama, the prime minister was surrounded by a large number of security guards. He quickly shook hands with some members of the crowd before getting into a car.

Kishida is slated to visit Oita Prefecture on Sunday for another campaign event.

The incident comes just nine months after the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with a homemade gun while he was campaigning for the LDP in Nara Prefecture, which borders Wakayama.

The killing of Abe prompted police to revise rules for VIP protection by extending the power of central authorities and establishing a system to assess the level of danger.

But the incident in Wakayama renewed questions about security measures for campaign events, which often allow members of the public to get up close and speak with candidates. On Saturday, the suspect was allowed to advance undisturbed toward the area where Kishida was standing.

LDP Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi said he had spoken to the prime minister since the incident.

“It is extremely regrettable that such an incident took place during an election which is the foundation of democracy," he said. "I strongly condemn it.”

Opposition party leaders also slammed the attack.

"We must not let any violence affect our democracy," Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan President Kenta Izumi said.

“We will not tolerate any violent challenge to democracy,” Nippon Ishin no Kai leader Nobuyuki Baba said, according to NHK. “As a party, we will continue our campaign with higher vigilance.”

Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People, said the attack “shakes the very foundation of democracy and must not be tolerated.”

“This is absolutely unforgivable,” he said in a statement released by the party. “Terrorism must not be given any reason or justification, because it infiltrates through small cracks and destroys democracy.”

Japan will host the G7 summit in Hiroshima next month, with the foreign ministers meeting in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, and the environment ministers meeting being held in Sapporo this weekend.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters on Saturday that he has communicated with the National Police Agency regarding security measures for the G7 summit.

“We will do what we must do to ensure the security of key personnel,” said Matsuno.

Prior to the assassination of Abe, other major attacks on politicians in Japan include the fatal 2007 shooting of Nagasaki Mayor Itcho Ito by a senior member of a crime syndicate. Ito died the day after he was shot twice in the back at point-blank range outside Nagasaki Station.

Five years earlier, LDP lawmaker Koki Ishii was stabbed to death by the leader of a right-wing group. In 1994, former Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa was shot while in a hotel in Tokyo but was unhurt.

Information from Kyodo added