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▼ Japan PM Attack Suspect May Have Held Grudge Over Electoral System
- Category:Event
The suspect in an explosives attack on Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during the weekend may have harbored a grudge after failing to qualify as a candidate for the upper house election last year, court documents showed Tuesday.
Ryuji Kimura, 24, has remained silent after being arrested at the scene for throwing an explosive device at Kishida just before the prime minister was about to make a stump speech Saturday in the city of Wakayama, western Japan. Kishida was not injured.
According to the records, Kimura filed a lawsuit with the Kobe District Court in June last year, seeking 100,000 yen ($740) in damages for mental distress after he was unable to file candidacy for a House of Councillors election held the following month.
He claimed the requirement of being at least 30 years old and paying a 3 million yen deposit to run in the election violated the Constitution that guarantees equality under the law.
Kimura also submitted a document criticizing Kishida's Cabinet for holding a state funeral for the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, saying the event was "forced through with only Cabinet approval" and without parliamentary deliberations, adding "such a challenge to democracy cannot be tolerated."
Abe was fatally shot last July during a stump speech in the western city of Nara before the upper house election. The subsequent state-funded funeral divided public opinion over its costs and the possibility of it being used to cement a positive legacy for the divisive former leader.
But the district court in November dismissed the case, in which Kimura had represented himself, on the grounds that both the age restriction and deposit were reasonable requirements. He appealed to the Osaka High Court, with a ruling slated to be handed down in May.
Hideo Okamoto, a professor of clinical psychology at Nara Women's University, said Kimura "may have thought (the Kishida) administration blocked his candidacy" and wanted to retaliate.
Kimura was also found to have participated in a city assembly debriefing session held by a local assemblywoman affiliated with the Liberal Democratic Party in September last year in which he told participating LDP lawmaker Masaki Ogushi that the age restriction for candidates in local elections should be lowered from 25.
Kimura said he wanted to run for a city council election, according to Ogushi's office.
Ogushi described the encounter as unusual in which the conversation continued for about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, Kimura's family was quoted by investigative sources as saying he "was at home until around midnight Friday but was gone by morning."
At around 11:25 a.m. on Saturday, an explosive device was thrown toward Kishida from within a crowd. Kimura was caught about 10 meters from the prime minister, with the device -- believed to be a homemade pipe bomb -- landing about one meter from Kishida.
According to the LDP headquarters, the party released Kishida's schedule for Saturday on its website the evening before, and an LDP election candidate also posted the prime minister's speech plans on social media.
Ryuji Kimura, 24, has remained silent after being arrested at the scene for throwing an explosive device at Kishida just before the prime minister was about to make a stump speech Saturday in the city of Wakayama, western Japan. Kishida was not injured.
According to the records, Kimura filed a lawsuit with the Kobe District Court in June last year, seeking 100,000 yen ($740) in damages for mental distress after he was unable to file candidacy for a House of Councillors election held the following month.
He claimed the requirement of being at least 30 years old and paying a 3 million yen deposit to run in the election violated the Constitution that guarantees equality under the law.
Kimura also submitted a document criticizing Kishida's Cabinet for holding a state funeral for the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, saying the event was "forced through with only Cabinet approval" and without parliamentary deliberations, adding "such a challenge to democracy cannot be tolerated."
Abe was fatally shot last July during a stump speech in the western city of Nara before the upper house election. The subsequent state-funded funeral divided public opinion over its costs and the possibility of it being used to cement a positive legacy for the divisive former leader.
But the district court in November dismissed the case, in which Kimura had represented himself, on the grounds that both the age restriction and deposit were reasonable requirements. He appealed to the Osaka High Court, with a ruling slated to be handed down in May.
Hideo Okamoto, a professor of clinical psychology at Nara Women's University, said Kimura "may have thought (the Kishida) administration blocked his candidacy" and wanted to retaliate.
Kimura was also found to have participated in a city assembly debriefing session held by a local assemblywoman affiliated with the Liberal Democratic Party in September last year in which he told participating LDP lawmaker Masaki Ogushi that the age restriction for candidates in local elections should be lowered from 25.
Kimura said he wanted to run for a city council election, according to Ogushi's office.
Ogushi described the encounter as unusual in which the conversation continued for about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, Kimura's family was quoted by investigative sources as saying he "was at home until around midnight Friday but was gone by morning."
At around 11:25 a.m. on Saturday, an explosive device was thrown toward Kishida from within a crowd. Kimura was caught about 10 meters from the prime minister, with the device -- believed to be a homemade pipe bomb -- landing about one meter from Kishida.
According to the LDP headquarters, the party released Kishida's schedule for Saturday on its website the evening before, and an LDP election candidate also posted the prime minister's speech plans on social media.
- April 18, 2023
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