The fishermen who tackled the man suspected of the attack Saturday on Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Sunday he and others were surprised by the lack of security.
The incident happened at a fishing port with somebody throwing an object that landed near Kishida.
A security officer covered the object with a bulletproof briefcase, and the fishermen swarmed the attacker.
“I never thought a crime like this would happen in my hometown, which is a rather small fishing area,” said Tsutomu Konishi, one of the fishermen. “At a time when Japan’s serving prime minister was visiting, perhaps we may have needed a metal detector.”
Nine months earlier, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated during a campaign tour. And police said they tightened protective measures after a probe uncovered holes in Abe’s security.