On Wednesday, Ryuji Kimura, 25, who in 2023 threw a pipe bomb in the direction of the then prime minister, Fumio Kishida, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for attempted murder. The point of contention in the trial was whether the defendant had intended to kill. According to his defense, he only wanted public attention and did not expect the bomb to cause injuries, so he shouldn’t have had to face a charge of attempted murder. They felt a three-year sentence would be reasonable.
The Wakayama District Court, however, disagreed, stating that Kimura knew the explosives were powerful enough to cause fatal damage. Presiding Judge Keiko Fukushima said that, “targeting a serving prime minister caused significant anxiety to society as a whole.” She added, “Severe punishment is needed to prevent copycats, and it cannot be underestimated that he has seriously disrupted the electoral system, which is the basis of democracy,” Prosecutors had sought a 15-year term, arguing that it was a “malicious terror act.”
The Pipe Bomb Attack on Kishida
The incident occurred on April 15, 2023, at Saikazaki fishing port in Wakayama city. The prime minister was minutes away from giving a stump speech when a loud explosion rang out. He was standing around a meter away from where the cylindrical object landed, before being pushed away from the scene, uninjured. Kimura was holding a second explosive device. Fortunately, he was subdued by a local fisherman, who managed to knock it out of his hand. He was arrested at the scene. Two people, including a police officer, were injured.
“I felt I had no choice but to do this to gain attention,” said Kimura afterward. He had previously sued the state because of his dissatisfaction with the election system. Representing himself in court, he claimed the election law — which demands that candidates for an upper house seat must be at least 30 years of age and put up ¥3 million — violates the Constitution. Due to the psychological trauma of not being allowed to stand in the previous election, he demanded ¥100,000 in compensation, but lost the case.
