The Japanese court found him guilty of attempted murder in the April 15, 2023 attack on Kishida, an incident which took place at a small fishing port in the city of Wakayama, as well as four other crimes which include violations of laws on explosives and other weapons.
Questions were raised on Kimura’s intention to commit murder, with the Wakayama District Court ruling that the 25-year-old was aware of the fatal potential of his attack.
During the 2023 attack, though the then-prime minister remained unhurt, two other people at the event suffered minor injuries. Police had arrested Kimura at the spot itself.
The attack gained significance after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s assassination the year before. Abe was shot dead during a campaign speech in the western city of Nara.
In its ruling, the Wakayama District Court sentenced Kimura to 10 years in prison, according to Japan’s public television and other media, without specifying which of the five charges he was found guilty of. The court did not immediately confirm the ruling by phone.
In early February, Kimura, at an opening session of the trial, pleaded not guilty to attempted murder, saying he didn’t intend to kill Kishida. The then-prime minister escaped the attack, but two people sustained minor injuries. Kimura was arrested on the spot.
The attack shocked the East Asian island nation as a year earlier, Kishida’s predecessor, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, was assassinated during a campaign speech in Nara, another city in western Japan.
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