It was only last July that a man with a homemade gun murdered Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as Abe was giving a speech at a campaign rally. Today, something similar happened as current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was about to give a campaign speech in western Japan not far from where Abe was killed.

TV footage shows Kishida standing with his back to the crowd. His security detail suddenly points to the ground near him, and the prime minister whips around, looking alarmed. The camera quickly turns to the crowd just as several people, including uniformed and plainclothes police officers, converge on a young man wearing a white surgical mask and holding what appears to be another device, a long silver tube…

It wasn’t immediately clear what the explosive device was or how many the suspect had, but some reports said it was a smoke or pipe bomb, possibly with a delayed fuse…

Saturday’s attack comes ahead of nationwide local elections, including several by-elections for vacated parliamentary seats, with voting scheduled for April 23.

Ultimately no one was hurt but the scene was a lot scarier than it sounds from the description. This clip shows the bomb being hurled toward Kishida, who has his back turned, followed by a scramble to get him away from the area. The thing that looks like an artist’s portfolio is actually a ballistic shield used to protect someone from bullets or shrapnel.

岸田総理の1mそばに爆弾が投げ込まれてる。。。
真っ先に爆弾に気付いたSPの対応は良かった。
2秒で盾を展開して3秒で総理を避難させてる。
安倍総理のときもこれができていれば。。。pic.twitter.com/agOkuUwmXz

— TikTokの痛い人たち (@itaiTikTok) April 15, 2023

From another angle you can see the security guy actually kicked the device away from the PM’s feet and then unfolded the shield. This guy deserves a commendation for acting quickly.

🔥【精彩一幕】日本首相岸田被袭击现场：保镖确实眼疾手快！迅速打掉踢开爆炸物(🧨注意看岸田脚下的白色爆炸物💥)！同时立即打开防爆箱！推开岸田文雄！

👍 这是很合格的保镖，比安倍晋三的保镖强！期待日本快速破案，揪出凶手背后的主使者！

💥 看更多爆料👉@zhihui999 pic.twitter.com/r3FwwvKxYr

— 海外爆料 (@zhihui999) April 15, 2023

Fortunately, it seems the bomb thrower mis-timed the fuse so it was about 50 seconds after he tossed it that the device went off. Here’s a version of the NHK video. Almost as soon as the device lands the camera swings to the crowd where people are tackling the man who threw it.

#NihonToday

Pedana Menteri Jepang Fumio Kishida Diserang Bom Asap Oleh Pemuda Bernama Kimura Ryuji Berusia 24 Tahun di Pelabuhan Saikazaki, Wakayama, Jepang

Jpn ver

日本の岸田文夫首相は、日本の和歌山県雑賀崎港で、木村隆二という名前の 24 歳の青年によって発煙弾に襲われた。 pic.twitter.com/wGlRHOYcUF

— KaguyaTV Official (@kaguyatv_id) April 15, 2023

If you pause the video you can see he has another device in his hand as people are wrestling with him. It looks like a homemade pipe bomb. Close-up screen grab below:

Close up of fishermen preventing the bomber from igniting his second pipe bomb #nhk_news #Kishida #Wakayama pic.twitter.com/zMaaJIZ009

— Scott Filipski 🌻 (@scottfilipski) April 15, 2023

The older man in the red snowflake sweater and the one with the blue hoodie were both local fisherman, not part of the security team. Here’s an interview with the guy in the blue hoodie. PM Kishida reportedly called them both to thank them.

NHK reports PM Kishida telephoned the 2 fisherman hours after the attack to thank them and commend them for their bravery #Kishida #Japan #Wakayama

— Scott Filipski 🌻 (@scottfilipski) April 15, 2023

Despite it looking pretty serious and creating quite a loud boom when it went off, the media seems to be downplaying it somewhat. It’s being described as a “smoke bomb.” I’m not expert but I’m thinking if that was a steel pipe, it could have created some dangerous shrapnel if it had gone off at Kishida’s feet.

The attempted bomber has been identified as 24-year-old Ryuji Kimura. Nothing about a possible motive has been revealed yet.

PM Kishida tweeted out a statement after the attack. This reads “We are now holding elections, the most important part of democracy for our country. I have to ask each and every one of you, who are the main players in this country, to clearly show your thoughts. With that thought in mind, I continue to stand on the stage of street speeches. I am determined to carry this important election through to the end, working together with the people.”

いま私たちは、私たちの国にとって民主主義にとって最も大切である選挙を行っています。この国の主役である皆さん1人1人の思いをしっかり示して頂かなければなりません。
その思いで私は街頭演説の場に立ち続けます。
この大切な選挙を、ぜひ国民の皆さんと力を合わせて、最後までやり通す覚悟です。 pic.twitter.com/ALbamNBZfQ

— 岸田文雄 (@kishida230) April 15, 2023

He did indeed continue his campaigning later in the day Saturday before returning to Tokyo.