Man Attacks Japan's Ruling Party Headquarters

The 49-year-old suspect crashed his car into a fence and threw Molotov cocktails. He has already been arrested.

A 49-year-old man was arrested on Saturday for throwing Molotov cocktails at the headquarters of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Before that, the suspect crashed his car into a fence in front of the office of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, local police said, as quoted by AFP.

No injuries were reported in the incident, which comes just over a week before the election, in which Prime Minister Ishiba hopes to strengthen his mandate.

A Tokyo police spokesman told AFP that the man was "detained at the scene on suspicion of obstructing public duties." "He drove up to the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in a vehicle, got out and threw what appeared to be petrol bombs. He also drove onto the road in front of the prime minister's office, crashed into a barrier that prevented vehicles from entering, and after getting out of the car, threw what appeared to be a smoke bomb at the officers," the police spokesman said.

The petrol bombs hit a riot police vehicle, but the fire was quickly extinguished.

A number of plastic containers, normally used to transport liquids, were found in the man's car.

In response, while campaigning in southern Kagoshima, the prime minister said that "democracy should never succumb to violence."

"This happened during the election campaign, but we will do everything to ensure that elections and democracy are not destroyed by violence," Shigeru Ishiba said.

Japan goes to general elections on October 27.

Violent crime is rare in the country, which has strict gun control laws.