<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was evacuated unhurt after a suspect threw what appeared to be a smoke bomb at an outdoor speech in western Japan on Saturday, domestic media reported.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A loud explosion was heard, but the premier took cover and was unharmed while police subdued a man at the scene, public broadcaster NHK said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The incident occurred at the Saikazaki fishing harbour in Wakayama prefecture, some 65 km (40 miles) southwest of Osaka city.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the longest-serving leader of modern Japan, was assassinated with a homemade gun last July while campaigning for a parliamentary election, shocking the nation and prompting a review of security for politicians, who routinely press the flesh with the public.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Kishida had just started to deliver the speech after touring the harbour when Saturday's incident occurred, NHK said. The speech was scheduled for 11:40 a.m. (0240 GMT), according to Kishida's ruling Liberal Democratic Party.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Kishida was to continue his Saturday afternoon campaign schedule after the incident, the LDP confirmed via its Twitter account.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">NHK footage showed crowds running away as several police officers appeared to pin a man to the ground before removing him from the scene. The man appeared to be in his 20s or 30s, media said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A representative of Wakayama's prefectural police headquarters told Reuters he could not answer questions about the incident.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A woman on the scene told NHK that she saw an object flying overhead and "it gave me a bad feeling, so we ran away unbelievably fast. Then we heard a really loud noise. It made my daughter cry."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Kishida is to host a Group of Seven (G7) summit in Hiroshima next month. G7 foreign ministers are to meet on Sunday in the resort city of Karuizawa. Reuters</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>