Assassination Attempt on Prime Minister Kishida: Contents of the National Police Agency’s “35-Page Report” Criticized for Zaru Security

About a month and a half after the attack on Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the National Police Agency distributed a “certain document” to all parties concerned. The 35-page document, titled ” Security Issues Related to the Prime Minister’s Security Guard and Efforts to Further Strengthen the Guard,” summarized the shocking attack on Prime Minister Kishida, who was scheduled to give a speech at Zogasaki fishing port in Wakayama City on April 15. The 35 documents were also a summary of the shocking incident in which Prime Minister Kishida was attacked at Zogasaki fishing port in Wakayama Prefecture.

Less than a year after the attempted attack on former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the National Police Agency (NPA) prepared this report, which includes future issues and initiatives.

Within the report, the National Police Agency acknowledged a lack of cooperation with the Wakayama Prefectural Police and deficiencies in the preliminary investigation of the speech location, and analyzed the need to conduct baggage checks and metal detector inspections of spectators. The report also mentions measures such as training and deploying security and job search specialists.

At the same time, however, there are those within the National Police Agency who say, “This is no longer a phase that can be handled by the police alone. In the future, it may be necessary to work more closely with prefectural police departments and the Liberal Democratic Party’s prefectural federation, outsource to private security companies, and appoint outside experts.

The report describes the contents of the preliminary inspection, the installation of bulletproof materials, the response to groping and other contacts with the prime minister, whether the mass media reported on the speech location in advance, and the rather detailed security situation, including how the suspect entered the building.

The description of the suspect’s approach to the PM is described in metric units, and three seconds after the cylindrical object (explosive device) was thrown, the guard shouted “evacuate” and used his own body as a shield to block the PM and the explosive device, kicking the cylindrical device away, until the fishery officials noticed the second attempt and stopped it, etc. The report then describes the hearing and the subsequent investigation.

The report then states that it would have been difficult to stop the suspect from throwing the object, given that no security personnel were able to notice the suspect’s presence or attempt to throw the object from the audience area.

While the Nara Prefectural Police’s blunder in the attack on former Prime Minister Abe was widely discussed, the SPs were praised for their prompt and appropriate actions in this case. Of course, the judgment of the individual SPs was a major factor, but the former prime minister’s death by a bullet was a serious incident, and the effect of the “New Security Guards Manual,” which was revised for the first time in 30 years, was felt. According to this report, the Wakayama Prefectural Police had carefully planned the security for Prime Minister Kishida’s speech, and the National Police Agency was also involved. This is why the prime minister escaped unharmed, but it did not prevent the throwing of the explosive device.

There are some voices in Nagata-cho. A mid-level member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) said, “The prime minister will be arrested in the fall at the earliest, or next year.

I wonder if there will be any security concerns during the dissolution and general election, which is expected to be held as early as fall or next year. If it were the prime minister, a strong security system would be in place, but with ministers and bigwigs of all parties traveling across the country, it would be practically impossible to provide the same level of security for all of them. No matter how carefully the security plan is formulated, there will always be “holes” in the plan. I feel that we are entering an era in which it is no longer possible to guarantee the safety of election activities without the help of the private sector.

There is no longer any time to wait for the drastic reinforcement of the security system and protection of VIPs.