Japan PM denounces attack, vows security review before G7

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has denounced a pipe bomb attack at a campaign event he attended last weekend, while pledging to review security procedures to ensure safety for dignitaries visiting the country for the Group of Seven summit he will host in May. The use of violence to shut down free speech should never be tolerated, Kishida told media from G-7 countries on Thursday at the Prime Minister’s Office, as he stressed that the attack occurred during a nationwide local election campaign. A man hurled a pipe bomb at Kishida at the fishing port of Saikazaki in the western prefecture of Wakayana on Saturday just before he was to make a campaign speech for a local candidate from his governing party.