Japan PM Shinzo Abe escapes injury in five-car collision

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. AFP