Man who attacked Japan's former PM Fumio Kishida sentenced to 10 years

A Japanese court on Wednesday convicted a man who threw a homemade pipe bomb at Japan's former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at a 2023 campaign event, sentencing him to 10 years in prison, according to local media reports.

Ryuji Kimura, 25, was charged with attempted murder for the April 15, 2023 attack on Kishida at a small fishing port in the western city of Wakayama, as well as four other charges including violations of laws on explosives and other weapons.

In the ruling, the Wakayama District Court sentenced Kimura to 10 years in prison, according to Japan's public television and other media, without specifying which of the five charges he was found guilty of. The court did not immediately confirm the ruling by phone.

 

Kimura, at an opening session of the trial in early February, pleaded not guilty to attempted murder, saying he didn't intend to kill Kishida.

The then-prime minister was unhurt, but two people sustained minor injuries. Kimura was arrested on the spot.

The attack came about a year after the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a campaign speech in Nara, another city in western Japan.