At around 5:45 a.m. on the 19th, a man threw several objects resembling Molotov cocktails toward the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Nagatacho, Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo. The man fled in a car, crashed into a vehicle barrier in front of the Prime Minister’s Office, and then threw what appeared to be a smoke bomb at a police officer. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department arrested the man on the spot on suspicion of obstruction of justice. According to the Public Security Bureau announcement, the arrested suspect is Atsuo Usuda (49), whose occupation is unknown and who lives in Shima, Kawaguchi City, Saitama Prefecture. He is said to have remained silent since his arrest. No one was injured in the series of incidents. That same night, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department conducted a search of Usuda’s home. The seized documents will be analyzed and further investigations will be carried out to clarify the motive behind the series of actions. According to the Public Security Bureau, Usuda arrived at the main gate of the LDP headquarters in a car registered to him and threw about five Molotov cocktails onto the premises. The area around the gate and parts of the police vehicle were reportedly burned. A few minutes later, he crashed his car into a security fence in front of the Prime Minister’s Office, a few hundred meters from the LDP headquarters. He got out of his car and threw a smoke bomb at police officers in their 20s and 30s who were on guard duty. He was then apprehended by the police officers. It is said that Usuda also threw a smoke bomb at his own car in front of the Prime Minister’s Office. He is said to have remained silent at both scenes. According to the Public Security Department, several unused Molotov cocktails were found inside the vehicle. The Molotov cocktail appeared to be homemade, consisting of a cloth immersed in liquid inside a glass bottle. What appeared to be an ignition agent was attached to the side with adhesive tape. There were also about 20 plastic containers inside the vehicle. Most of the contents were gasoline. At present, it is believed that Usuda carried out the act alone, but the Public Security Bureau plans to investigate the background of the incident, including whether he had any accomplices. In the early hours of the morning when the incident occurred, more than 10 police and fire vehicles were rushed to the area around the LDP headquarters and the Prime Minister’s Official Residence, causing chaos. In response to this incident, the National Police Agency instructed prefectural police departments to provide security for those being protected at speech venues and to ensure thorough vigilant security at LDP-related facilities across the country. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (President of the Liberal Democratic Party) gave street speeches at three locations in Kagoshima Prefecture and one location in Chiba Prefecture as scheduled to support LDP candidates. In the square in front of JR Kagoshima Chuo Station, they appealed, “We must not allow democracy to be destroyed by violence.” (Higa Nobuyuki) The Asahi Shimbun Company.
>>1 >>He threw a smoke bomb at police officers in their 20s and 30s who were on guard duty. He was then apprehended by the police officers. Is it necessary to state one’s age…? This is a jab at the Ice Age! >>The arrested suspect is Usuda Atsunobu (49), of unknown occupation, from Shima, Kawaguchi City, Saitama Prefecture.
The father (wearing a doctor’s lab coat?) who was being interviewed said, “You didn’t have a car, so I thought you’d gone out looking for work,” and it made me sad.
>>22 I bet they bought it at a gas station. They just buy it in their car and transfer it to a plastic container at the pump. To be honest, it’s too dangerous to be able to buy gas so easily. Anyone could commit an arson attack that kills dozens of people, like the Kyoani and Osaka hospital arson attacks.
It’s pretty stupid to fail to ignite the gasoline left in the car. It must have ignited with the plastic container lid closed. Nearly 400 litres of gasoline. Even though there was nothing nearby, if it had been successful in igniting it, it would have been quite a fire. A pretty scary attempted terrorist attack.
If you’re going to do it, you should aim for Takeuchi. His guard seems weak. But ever since Abe was targeted, he hasn’t been in the spotlight at all lol.
>>31 I think they probably drove into the LDP HQ or the Prime Minister’s residence and then self-destructed and caught fire. Kyoani used like 10 or 15 liters of gasoline but if they had used several hundred liters of gasoline, the fire would have been unbelievable The LDP HQ or the Prime Minister’s residence would have been completely burned Well, I guess security isn’t so lax that they could just drive a minicar into it, though.
It’s obvious that their goal is to get the press. The moment they throw a Molotov cocktail, they’ll be stopped, so the plastic containers are just for show. Even if they ignite a smoke bomb and explode, it will just burn in the street. So who exactly benefits from this?
>>45 To be honest, I think it would be better to restrict the sale of gasoline. If that happened, people wouldn’t be able to drive cars lol. At the very least, they need to make it so that gasoline can’t be taken out of the fuel tank of a car. Anyone can commit mass murder. I think it will become a problem once EVs become more widespread. It’s strange that such a dangerous substance can be bought so easily.
A friend of mine poured gasoline on a campfire and his face melted. Very dangerous. When moving the motor pool cars, we would move them around for quick resupply, but it was horrible in the summer. It’s no good being stuck in an enclosed space.
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