Man arrested after explosion prompts evacuation of Japanese leader Fumio Kishida from speech venue | CNN

Tokyo, Japan
CNN
 — 

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was evacuated Saturday from a venue where he was giving an outdoor speech after an “explosion-like sound” at the scene.

Video footage released by Japan’s public broadcaster NHK showed members of the public fleeing and a man being arrested following the incident.

The footage showed multiple men, believed to be police officers, holding the suspect on the ground.

Local news agency Kyodo news reported that a man had thrown “what appeared to be a smoke bomb.”

The dramatic scenes took place in the city of Wakayama, where Kishida was giving a speech following his inspection of Saikazaki Fishing Port.

A city council member who was at the scene told NHK that shortly before the explosion was heard a “cylindrical silver object” had flown “about two meters in front of me.”

Another eyewitness also reported seeing “a silver cylinder,” saying it “was thrown and then shone a bit before a big sound was heard.”

Japanese officials say Kishida is safe and unharmed.

This is a developing story. More to follow