Early this morning, a man in his 40s was arrested after he threw an object believed to be a firebomb at the headquarters of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party and tried to rush into the prime minister's residence in a car, Japanese media reported.
According to reports, the suspect threw five to six objects that appeared to be firebombs in front of the Liberal Democratic Party's headquarters in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, at around 6 a.m. today.
Some of the objects were hit by a police task force vehicle, but the fire was reportedly extinguished immediately.
The suspect then tried to drive a car into the prime minister's residence, but was blocked by an iron fence and arrested at the scene.
It takes about five minutes by car to get to the prime minister's residence from the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters.
The suspect is said to be exercising his right to remain silent in a police investigation.
In addition, about 10 containers containing oil were found inside the vehicle.
Hiroshi Moriyama, secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party, said, "The election, which is the basis of democracy, is in full swing, and I feel strong anger over the act."
Recently, in Japan, there have been a series of incidents targeting key members of the Liberal Democratic Party at every major election.
In July 2022, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot dead during an election campaign in Nara Prefecture ahead of the upper house election.
In April last year, a man in his 20s threw explosives at former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at a by-election campaign site in Wakayama Prefecture.
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