Fishermen pounce on suspect during attack on Prime Minister in Japan

While campaigning in western Japan on Saturday, Tsutomu Konishi, as he saw an object pass over his head and land on Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, he and some other fishermen were quick to grab a man. Police later identified the man as the suspect in the attack. On one hand the security officer covered the object with a bulletproof briefcase and on the other hand one of the fishermen held the man’s neck from behind, another pressed his head down and Konishi held his leg.

Moments later, there was an explosion and the crowd ran around and the officers dragged the suspect away. The efforts of the fishermen community are being discussed on Japan’s social media. Many people have a question whether they were police officers in plain uniform. Senior members of the fishing community said they and the police were all set to welcome the prime minister on his first visit to the area, but some were critical, saying security should be tighter. The incident brought back memories of the assassination of Kishida’s predecessor Shinzo Abe during an election campaign in the western city of Nara nine months ago.

“I never thought such a crime would ever happen in my hometown, which is a small fishing area,” Konishi, 41, said in an interview on Sunday. Kishida arrived in Wakayama’s Saizaki port yesterday to support a candidate from his ruling party in local elections. The Prime Minister was about to start his speech when there was an explosion. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters that a young man believed to be a suspect was arrested at the scene on Saturday. He allegedly threw a “suspicious object”. After that there was also an explosion.

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