Police in action (symbolic image)
According to media reports, a man was arrested in Tokyo for allegedly throwing several Molotov cocktails at the ruling party headquarters on Saturday morning.
Five or six Molotov cocktail-like objects hit the riot police vehicle, but the fire was quickly extinguished and no one was injured, public broadcaster NHK reported. Police could not immediately confirm the information to the AFP news agency.
The alleged perpetrator also tried to drive his car into the grounds of the Japanese Prime Minister's office, but was stopped by a fence, NHK reported. According to media reports, the suspect then tried to throw a smoke bomb, but was stopped by police officers. The incident occurred shortly before 6am (local time, 23.00 CEST on Friday).
Violent crime is relatively rare in Japan, and gun laws are among the strictest in the world. However, recently, a number of acts of violence have rocked the country, including the murder of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in July 2022 at an election campaign event. Japan will hold general elections on October 27.