Ryuji Kimura, center, is caught by police after he threw a homemade pipe bomb at Japan’s former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during a campaign event at a fishing port in Wakayama, western Japan, on April 15, 2023. ( AP photo)

A Japanese court on Wednesday convicted Ryuji Kimura, the man who threw a homemade pipe bomb at former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during a 2023 campaign event, sentencing him to 10 years in prison, local media reported.
Kimura, 25, was charged with attempted murder for the April 15, 2023, attack on Kishida at a small fishing port in Wakayama, along with four other charges, including violations of laws on explosives and weapons. The Wakayama District Court delivered the verdict but did not specify which charges led to the conviction, according to Japan’s public broadcaster and other media. The court did not immediately confirm the ruling by phone.
At the start of his trial in early February, Kimura pleaded not guilty to attempted murder, stating he “didn’t intend to kill Kishida.” The then-prime minister escaped unharmed, though two people suffered minor injuries. Kimura was arrested at the scene.
The attack occurred nearly a year after the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was shot while delivering a campaign speech in Nara, another city in western Japan.