A Japanese man was sentenced to 10 years in prison for attempting to assassinate former prime minister Fumio Kishida with a pipe bomb at a 2023 campaign event.
A court in Wakayama prefecture in western Japan sentenced 25-year-old Ryuji Kimura to 10 years in prison for attempting to kill Mr Kishida at an election event at a small fishing port in the western city of Wakayama in April 2023.
Prosecutors had sought 15 years, arguing it was a “malicious terror act”, while Kimura’s defence claimed he only wanted public attention.
The explosion injured a police officer and a bystander, but Mr Kishida was unharmed. Kimura was arrested on the spot.
He was convicted of attempted murder and violations of laws controlling explosives and deadly weapons. The court ruled he knowingly threw a lethal explosive at Mr Kishida, confirming his intent to kill, according to public broadcaster NHK Japan.
A key issue in the trial was whether Kimura intended to kill. On Wednesday, presiding judge Fukushima Keiko ruled that expert tests confirmed the explosive was lethal. She concluded that Kimura hurled it knowing it could kill the then-prime minister, finding him guilty of attempted murder.
The attack occurred less than a year after former prime minister Shinzo Abe’s assassination during a campaign speech in Nara, another city in western Japan.
The judge said that the attack had a significant societal impact, as it targeted a sitting prime minister and spread fear. She said that Kimura had previously sued the government over Japan’s election system and, after receiving little attention on social media, deliberately targeted a high-profile figure to gain publicity.
Calling the crime premeditated, she stressed the need for severe punishment to deter similar acts, adding that Kimura’s actions seriously disrupted the electoral system, a cornerstone of democracy.
Earlier, prosecutors revealed that Kimura had brought two explosive devices to the campaign event, one of which he hurled at Mr Kishida. Social media posts later indicated that Kimura harboured grievances about Japan’s election system.
Authorities discovered fragments of the pipe bomb embedded in a container 60m from the site, with prosecutors asserting that the device was potentially lethal.
Kimura had previously sued the government disputing the eligibility criteria for political candidates, including the minimum age requirement and the need to have at least three million yen (£18,000) to run for national office. Under Japanese law, candidates must be at least 30 to contest upper house elections and 25 for the lower house.
Earlier this month, Kimura denied the charge of attempted murder, claiming he had no intention of killing Mr Kishida. However, he admitted to manufacturing the explosives and acknowledged the other charges.
He had a history of seeking damages from the government. Japan’s Yomiuri newspaper reported that Kimura filed a lawsuit in the Kobe district court in June 2022 and claimed he could not run for the election held on 10 July due to his age and inability to prepare a three-million yen (£18,000) deposit.
The report said the 24-year-old had sought 100,000 yen (approximately £600) in damages for his mental anguish. Kimura claimed, at the time, that the election law violates the constitution, which stipulates equality under the law among other provisions.
Gun-related crime is rare in Japan due to strict firearm regulations, but a series of high-profile knife attacks on subways and other public spaces in recent years has raised concern.
