Crime & Courts

Tweets Linked to Attack Suspect Kimura Mention PM

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:17 JST, April 19, 2023

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s name appeared among 23 posts on a Twitter account linked to Ryuji Kimura that were published between June 27 and April 11, four days before Kimura is alleged to have thrown an explosive device at Kishida.

Kimura filed a lawsuit against the central government in June, 2022.

Titled “Newsletter of lawsuit against unconstitutional election voting age limits and deposit” the account mainly featured posts about the lawsuit and criticism of the election system.

Kishida’s name appeared in a critical tweet posted on Sept. 8.

Citing a news report in which Kishida explained to the Diet why he had decided to hold a state funeral for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the tweet read: “Prime Minister Kishida is also a third-generation [politician], and anyone who ignores public opinion cannot normally be a politician. Behind the prevalence of hereditary succession in politics is the unconstitutional Public Offices Election Law that requires a deposit of as much as ¥3 million [for candidacy]. Ordinary people cannot run for office. Democracy will collapse.”

A post that is thought to refer to the link between politicians and the Unification Church read: “Even if you run for office, your rival is the organizational votes of religious groups. It is a system that makes it absolutely impossible for ordinary people to become politicians.”

As of Tuesday, the account had zero followers and did not follow other accounts.