The headquarters of Japan’s ruling party was attacked by firebombs and the suspect was arrested

TOKYO (AFP) – A man threw several firebombs at the ruling party headquarters in Tokyo on Saturday, then crashed his car into the fence of the prime minister’s residence, Tokyo police said. There were no reports of injuries.

The man, identified by police as Atsunobu Osoda, 49, was immediately arrested on charges of obstructing the performance of his official duties, although other charges could be added later.

Although the motive for the attack was not immediately clear, Japanese media reports said social media posts believed to be by Osoda showed him complaining about the sums of money required to run for office under Japanese law, implying that Osoda has political ambitions. .

Media reports also quoted unidentified sources as saying that Osoda participated in protests against nuclear plants. Osoda was not immediately available for comment.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party is increasingly popular with the public due to its big money scandal involving questionable financing and suspected tax evasion. The party refused to comment on Saturday’s attack, and referred all inquiries to the police.

The vote to elect the lower house of parliament is scheduled to take place on October 27. Some tainted politicians have lost official support for the ruling party but are running in the elections as independents.

The party recently chose a new leader, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, in hopes of presenting a new image. But opinion polls show their popularity declining, although it remains unclear whether they will lose their grip on the majority in the House of Representatives in the next election given the divided opposition.

Some candidates were harassed, which is relatively rare in Japanese culture.

Liberal democrats have governed Japan almost continuously in recent decades. They are credited with leading Japan to become an economic powerhouse after the devastation of World War II.

Then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated in 2022, while giving a speech for the ruling party’s candidate during the parliamentary elections. The killer used a homemade firearm, saying he was upset with Abe because his mother had given all the family money to the Unification Church, and he saw Abe as affiliated with that church. Such relations still continue with some ruling party politicians.

___

Yuri Kageyama on X: https://x.com/yurikageyama