Video shows actions of ‘quick-thinking’ bodyguard who kicked pipe bomb away from Japanese PM

Widespread praise for bodyguard who reacted first to kick away bomb before putting himself in between object and Fumio Kishida

A bodyguard has been praised for his acts of bravery during a suspected pipe-bomb attack on the Japanese prime minister at the weekend.

Footage filmed by a member of the public shows the bodyguard reacting quickly to kick away a metal object as it lands near to Fumio Kishida. The bodyguard then puts himself between the prime minister and the device, and covers Mr Kishida with a collapsible, handheld ballistics shield.

The bomb went off moments later with a loud explosion, filling the air with white smoke. Mr Kishida was evacuated unharmed.

The incident, which took place as Mr Kishida was giving a speech in Wakayama, western Japan on Saturday, sent people in the crowd running and screaming.

It came just nine months after the assassination of Mr Kishida’s predecessor, Shinzo Abe, in July last year. Abe was shot and killed by a lone assailant with a homemade gun while the then prime minister was delivering a speech at a campaign event.

Police recovered two pipe-shaped objects with conducting wires from the scene on Saturday, one of which was unexploded. Only one person was injured by the device that went off – a police officer whose arm was cut by shrapnel. It is thought that the bomb did not fully explode.

Officers are working on the possibility that both of the devices were homemade pipe bombs, and are still investigating whether they were intended to be lethal, The Japan Times quoted investigators as saying.

Saturday’s attack took place at the Saikazaki fishing harbour in Wakayama prefecture just as Mr Kishida had started to deliver his speech after touring the harbour.

The speech was scheduled for 11.40am local time, according to Mr Kishida’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

Several police officers appeared to pin a man to the ground before removing him from the scene. The suspect has been identified as 24-year-old Kimura Ryuji, a resident of Kawanishi city in Hyogo prefecture.

He is under arrest on suspicion of forcible obstruction of business, NHK reported. Police sent a special counterexplosives team to the suspect’s home to search for evidence of bomb-making.

A cylinder-shaped object believed to have been thrown during prime minister Fumio Kishida’s campaign speech (JIJI Press/AFP via Getty)

A woman on the scene told the broadcaster that she saw an object flying overhead and “ran frantically”, adding: “and then, 10 or so seconds later, we heard a really loud noise. It made my daughter cry.”

Authorities are reported to suspect that two cylindrical objects were thrown, one of which exploded while the other was seized by officers.

A man present at the event said: “When we all stopped in front of the podium, someone started saying ‘Culprit!’ or something, or ‘An explosive was thrown,’ so everyone started dispersing fast.

“And then, about 10 seconds after the culprit was captured, there was a blast.”

A fisherman who was watching the prime minister’s speech leapt onto the suspect and pinned him down just after the bomb flew overhead and landed near Mr Kishida.

“I never thought a crime like this would happen in my hometown, which is a rather small fishing area,” Tsutomu Konishi said on Sunday. “I’m still shocked and stunned.”

Mr Konishi was among those questioning the lack of security measures around Mr Kishida’s visit. “At a time when Japan’s serving prime minister was visiting, perhaps we may have needed a metal detector,” he told reporters.

Mr Kishida has promised to tighten security around the visits of G7 dignitaries to his country, beginning with beefed-up security for climate ministers gathering in Sapporo at the weekend.

“My security has become even heavier this morning. It’s so tight I think it is going to be difficult to go out into the city,” Japan’s environment minister, Akihiro Nishimura, said at the hotel in the northern Japanese city where he was hosting his G7 counterparts.