Mental Examination Begins for Kishida Attack Suspect

Wakayama, May 24 (Jiji Press)--A psychiatric examination has begun for a man who threw an explosive at Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in the western Japan city of Wakayama in April, in order to determine whether he can be held criminally responsible, prosecution sources said Wednesday.

The 24-year-old suspect, Ryuji Kimura, had been transferred from the Wakayama prefectural police department's Wakayama Nishi police station to the Osaka Detention House by Wednesday, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Psychiatrists and other experts will investigate Kimura's mental state on the day of the incident.

Based on the results of the examination, which will continue until Sept. 1, the Wakayama District Public Prosecutors Office will decide whether he should be held criminally responsible and, if so, how he should be punished.

In the incident, which occurred during a campaign event at the Saikazaki fishing port in the city on April 15, a male police officer and a man in the audience suffered minor injuries.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]