Pro-Palestinian Activist Rams Car into “Israeli” Embassy Barricade in Tokyo

By Staff, Agencies

A car crashed into a barricade set up near the “Israeli” Embassy in Tokyo on Thursday, injuring a riot police officer who was on guard amid heightened security due to the “Israeli” war against the besieged Gaza Strip, police said.

The police arrested 53-year-old Shinobu Sekiguchi, a member of a right-wing group, at the scene for allegedly obstructing the officer's duties by hitting him with the mini-vehicle at around 10:50 a.m. on a street some 60 meters northwest of the embassy.

About six hours before the incident, a post believed to have been made by Sekiguchi on X, formerly called Twitter, said, “‘Israel’ is at fault for invading the Gaza Strip,” according to a source close to the matter.

He admitted to the allegations and said he feels sorry for the officer, according to the police. The officer in his 20s has sustained light injuries.

Police officers blocked the area around where a black car with damage to its front headlights and panel appeared to have crashed, while the road was strewn with debris, according to a Reuters witness on the scene.

The car's number plate was from Tama, western Tokyo.

The incident occurred amid tightened security, as various groups have been staging demonstrations near the embassy in protest of the apartheid “Israeli” entity’s brutal attacks on the Gaza Strip.

Several pro-Palestinian demonstrations have been held outside “Israeli” embassies around the world in recent weeks, including in Tokyo, in protest against the “Israeli” entity’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

A month ago, shortly after the entity began its bombardment of Gaza in retaliation for Hama’s October 7 Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, a group of pro-Palestinian protesters faced off with police outside the “Israeli” embassy in Tokyo.

Around the same time, a staffer at the “Israeli” embassy in Beijing was assaulted on the street and hospitalized.

The Palestinian death toll from “Israeli” strikes has climbed to 11,240, including 4,630 children and 3,130 women. More than 28,000 people have been also injured in the regime’s military onslaught.

The entity has also blocked supply of water, food, electricity, and medicines to Gaza, plunging the coastal area into a humanitarian crisis. The regime has been defying global calls for a ceasefire as well.