Japan public safety chief was busy eating eel rice when PM Kishida was attacked

Japan's public safety chief is drawing flak for his remarks that he continued to savour his eel rice bowl even after he was told that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had a narrow escape from a pipe bomb attack.

Koichi Tani, chair of National Public Safety Commission for Kishida's cabinet, said in a governing party gathering on Tuesday (April 25) that he was eating the local delicacy for lunch when the phone rang.

“I was told that we can eat delicious unagi (eel) rice bowl there, and I was really looking forward to it," Tani told party lawmakers. “Just as I was going to dig into it, I got a call from the National Police Agency saying something was thrown at the prime minister in Wakayama," Tani said, as quoted by AP.

“But I fully savoured and finished … my unadon (eel rice bowl),” he said,

Tani was eating eel rice in Shimanto area in southwestern prefecture of Kochi when Kishida was attacked in Wakayama. Tani was 250 kilometres away from theplace of attack.

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Tani's eel rice comments sparked criticism inparliament and even on social media. Questions were raised about Japan's public safety. The country is making final preparations for G7 Summit that PM Kishida will host. The summit is slated to take place between May 19-21 in Hiroshima.

In Japanese parliament, some opposition lawmakers demanded Tani's dismissal.

“As head of the National Public Safety Commission, (Tani) lacks sense of urgency,” said Jun Azumi, an executive of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan. “Isn't this a negative for the prime minister to have such a person as chief executive responsible for Japan's security?"

But Kishida said Tani handled his duties adequately and that he wanted the public safety chief to stay on.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno also defended Tani. He said the public safety chief, who was in Kochi as the disaster prevention minister, juggled both duties and gave adequate instructions to officials responding to the explosion in Wakayama.

“I also contacted Minister Tani and once again told him to carry out his duties firmly,” Matsuno said.

Tani later Wednesday told reporters he wanted to highlight eel as a local delicacy of the area he visited, but that he had “poorly expressed myself in my brief comment and might have caused misunderstanding — and I must take it seriously.”

“With the G-7 summit coming up, I'm aware of the importance of protecting Japan’s public safety, and I will carry out my duty with a sense of alertness,” Tani added.

(With inputs from agencies)

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