Japan’s ruling party headquarters is attacked with firebombs and suspect is arrested, media report

Police are investigating an incident outside the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, on October 19, 2024, where something resembling a Molotov cocktail was thrown, according to local media. Photo courtesy: Reuters

A man threw several firebombs at the headquarters of Japan’s ruling party in Tokyo on Saturday (October 19, 2024), according to the public broadcaster. nhk and other Japanese media reported. There were no reports of injuries.

News reports said the man, who was arrested at the scene, had driven his car into a nearby fence. His motive for the attack was not immediately clear.

Tokyo police declined to comment, noting that the case was still under investigation.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party is becoming increasingly unpopular with the public due to a growing money scandal involving questionable funding and suspected tax evasion. The party declined to comment on Saturday’s (October 19, 2024) attack and referred all questions to the police.

voting for the lower house of parliament Scheduled for October 27, 2024. Some disgraced politicians have lost the official support of the ruling party but are contesting elections as independents.

The party has recently elected a new leader, Prime Minister Shigeru IshibaHoping to present a new image. But polls show its popularity is declining, though it is still unclear whether it will lose its majority in the lower house in the upcoming elections given the fragmented opposition.

Some candidates have been abused, which is relatively rare in Japanese culture.

Liberal Democrats have ruled Japan almost continuously in recent decades. He is credited with leading Japan as it became an economic superpower after the devastation of World War II.

then prime minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated In 2022, while giving a speech for the ruling party candidate during the parliamentary elections. The killer, using a handmade firearm, said that he was angry at Abe because his mother had given all the family’s money to the Unification Church, and he saw Abe as affiliated with that church. Such relations are still going on with some politicians of the ruling party.