WAKAYAMA (TR) – The Wakayama District Court has sentenced sentenced a 25-year-old man to 10 years in prison for the pipe-bomb attack of former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Wakayama City last year.
During the sentencing on February 19, Ryuji Kimura, a resident of Kawanishi City, Hyogo Prefecture, looked straight at the judge and listened calmly, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Feb. 19).
“It was a very dangerous act,” said presiding judge Keiko Fukushima. “The crime was aimed at a sitting prime minister, so it will have a large social impact.”
According to the indictment, Kimura was charged with five crimes, including attempted murder, for throwing the homemade explosive at Kishida and others who were visiting a fishing port in city to support his election campaign last April.
The blast caused minor injuries to a police officer and a public bystander.
The main issue during the trial was whether or not Kimura had the intent to kill and was aware of the risk of causing death. The prosecution had sought a 15-year sentence, stating that “it is clear that he had the intent to kill or the purpose of harming others.”
Kimura, on the other hand, denied having an intent to kill. The defense argued that a three-year prison sentence would be appropriate.
Presiding judge Fukushima found that the defendant “had an indirect intent to kill.”
“Heinous terrorist act”
In their closing argument, the prosecution pointed out that the speed of the flying parts from the explosive was comparable to that of a bullet considering that some penetrated a container about 60 meters away from the target.
The prosecution went on to say that the defendant threw the explosive when Kishida turned his back to the crowd of more than 150 people. “It was a heinous terrorist act that targeted the incumbent prime minister and indiscriminately involved those around him,” the prosecution said.
On the other hand, the defense explained that the explosive’s lethality was “only if shrapnel hit [a person] directly at a distance of two to three meters it could cause death.”
The defense also denied any intention to kill on the part of the defendant, saying that he had conducted tests beforehand and adjusted the length of the fuse so that it would take about a minute for the explosion to occur, ensuring hat people around could escape. “He had no intention of injuring or killing anyone,” the defense argued.
Kimura said during questioning that his intention was not to kill Kishida but rather to protest age restrictions on entering elections, which kept him out of politics.
During the trial, Kimura explained his motive. “I thought that if a loud noise was made near a celebrity it would attract attention,” he said in referring to raising the electoral system issue. “I am sorry that I ended up injuring someone.”
