Japanese politician attacked with knife during protest

ISTANBUL

Japanese politician Takashi Tachibana was attacked with a knife on Friday during a protest in front of the country’s Finance Ministry.

Tachibana, 57, was injured and taken to hospital, according to public broadcaster NHK.

His injuries were not reportedly life threatening.

The assailant was arrested and authorities are investigating the incident.

Tachibana, founder of the right-wing NHK party (unrelated to the broadcaster), said in a video that he is well and that the cut he received is about 3 centimeters (1.18 inches) in length.

The attack weapon was a machete, he added.

In 2022, then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated while giving a campaign speech.

The following year, then-Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was attacked during a campaign event in the western city of Wakayama. He was unharmed after a man threw an explosive device toward him.