A man who threw an improvised explosive device at former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in 2023 has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, Japanese media reported on Wednesday.
Wakayama District Court found Ryuji Kimura, 25, guilty of attempted murder as well as four other offences related to explosives and weapons laws. Prosecutors had originally requested a 15-year prison sentence for him.
The court ruled that Kimura realised his attack could have led to the death of Kishida or people nearby.
At the beginning of the trial in February, the defendant assured that he did not intend to kill the prime minister, but only wanted to draw public attention because he was dissatisfied with Japan’s electoral system.
In April 2023, Kimura threw an improvised explosive device 10 metres away from the prime minister in a crowd of about 200 people at an election event.
The politician was not injured in the explosion. The assailant was detained at the scene and a knife and an object likely to be a second explosive device were recovered.
