At a campaign rally in a fishing port in Western Japan, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was the target of an attempted attack with a homemade pipe bomb.
Witnesses reported seeing a thin, metal thermos-like object thrown at the Prime Minister, which his security guards were quick to react to.
Bodyguard footage showed the bomb being kicked away and the guard unfolding a briefcase into a bulletproof shield in order to protect the Prime Minister. At the same time, authorities tackled a man wearing a white surgical mask who was holding a second device, a long silver tube.
The first bomb exploded, and both it and the second device were later confiscated from the scene, along with a cigarette lighter and a fruit knife.
Police then investigated the home of the 24-year-old suspect, finding metal tubes, tools, and possible gunpowder. One police officer was injured in the incident.
The attack comes nine months after the assassination of the former Japanese Prime Minister.