A man was arrested in Tokyo today after allegedly throwing a Molotov cocktail at the headquarters of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), eight days before parliamentary elections, Japanese media reported.

According to Japanese public broadcaster NHK, one of the improvised incendiary devices hit a police riot squad vehicle, but the fire was quickly extinguished and no one was injured.

When contacted by AFP, Japanese police were unable to immediately confirm this information.

The suspect, said to be in his forties, also tried to drive his car into the compound of the prime minister’s office, but was unable to because of a barrier and was arrested at the scene, according to NHK.

The episode unfolded shortly before 06:00 (local time; 00:00 Greek time). According to the digital edition of the Asahi newspaper and other media, several plastic containers were found inside the suspect’s car.

As soon as he became prime minister, after his victory in the internal party elections of the FDP, Shigeru Isiba announced early parliamentary elections for October 27.

Violent crime in general remains extremely rare in Japan. But the country remains shocked after the 2022 assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the middle of the street while he was speaking at a campaign rally by a man armed with a makeshift weapon.