April 16, 2023

Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Koike Akira on April 15 commented on an attack in which an explosive object was thrown at Prime Minister Kishida when he was about to give a campaign speech in Wakayama Prefecture, and said, “Such an act will destroy democracy and is totally unforgivable.”

Koike made this comment in a street speech rally held in Tokyo to increase public support for the JCP in the second half of the nationwide simultaneous local elections.

Koike in his comment said, “In every election campaign, the most important thing is to protect the freedom of speech. The JCP firmly opposes any act of interfering with the freedom of speech.”

The incident in question occurred at around 11:30 a.m. at a fishing port in Wakayama City in Wakayama Prefecture where PM Kishida visited to support a Liberal Democratic Party candidate running in a House of Representatives by-election. Just moments ahead of the planned speech by PM Kishida, a man threw an explosive device at Kishida and was immediately arrested by the police at the scene. Kishida escaped safely.