Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Jail for Conspiracy to Assassinate Japan’s Prime Minister

A man was sentenced to 10 years in prison for trying to assassinate Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida with a homemade pipe bomb in 2023. The assassination attempt was while attending a campaign rally in western Japan. The attacker, Ryuji Kimura, 25, was arrested at the scene, and Prime Minister Kishida remained unharmed.

The attack came less than a year after the assassination of then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2022. The court declared that Kimura’s actions caused utmost fear in society and sabotaged the country’s democratic process. Prosecutors asked for a 15-year prison term, but Kimura’s lawyers urged a lighter sentence, saying that he did not aim to assassinate Kishida.

After the attack, police found tools and gunpowder at Kimura’s house. Kimura said he had a desire for attention, but prosecutors called it a “terror act” and said he recognized that the bomb could kill.