Japan PM Abe escapes injury in five-car collision

Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. AP FILE PHOTO

TOKYO – A limousine carrying Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was involved in a five-car pile-up at a toll gate in Tokyo on Saturday but he escaped without any injuries, police said.

Two guards in a police car accompanying Abe’s official vehicle suffered slight injuries to the face, a Metropolitan Police Department spokesman said.

The police car made a sudden stop at the toll gate, which led to Abe’s vehicle bumping into it from behind.

Two other police cars and a saloon carrying reporters, which were trailing Abe’s limousine, were also involved in the collision, said the official.

Abe, known for his nationalist views, was on his way to a park in central Tokyo to attend a rally calling on North Korea to return Japanese nationals kidnapped by the communist state during the Cold War, local media said.