TOKYO: Japanese police are strengthening efforts to ensure security for politicians and other important figures one year after an explosive was thrown at Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio.

The National Police Agency is urging politicians to implement thorough baggage checks at events while stepping up measures to gather information on so-called lone offenders not affiliated with criminal organizations.

The Kishida attack on April 15 last year occurred while Japanese police authorities were reviewing their dignitary protection systems in the wake of the fatal shooting of former Prime Minister ABE Shinzo in July 2022.

“We cannot afford to fail in future elections,” a senior NPA official said. “The police are being put to the test.”

Since the attack on Kishida, police have been urging political parties and organizers of rallies and speeches to cooperate over security, such as securing space between politicians and audience members as well as implementing baggage checks and security screenings with metal detectors in principle.

The agency said that 70 to 80 percent of event organizers have abided by such requests, leading to cases in which knives and other dangerous items were found on audience members.

Meanwhile, such measures have spurred some discontent. Politicians feel distanced from voters and view security checks on support group members as unnecessary.

The NPA introduced in August 2022 a scheme in which prefectural police departments have to submit security plans for dignitaries to the agency beforehand.

Last June, it began requiring prefectural departments to report on their interactions with organizers. If departments are found to have failed to gain enough understanding from organizers of the need for security measures, the agency can tell them to hold more talks.

The NPA had screened about 2,800 security plans by the end of last month, demanding revisions for about 2,200 of them.

Police requests are not binding, however, and authorities must deal with cases in which organizers do not agree to cooperate or cases in which tight security measures are difficult, such as at outdoor festival venues, by increasing the number of security personnel.

At a press conference Monday, Chief Cabinet Secretary HAYASHI Yoshimasa said that the government will aim for “cooperation between police and event organizers to balance election campaign activities and the safety of those subject to security and the audience.”

“Stump speeches are important because people can listen to arguments directly,” Hayashi said.

The incidents involving Abe and Kishida were carried out by lone offenders, whose movements are difficult to grasp.

Prefectural police departments nationwide launched a scheme this month in which information on possibly dangerous people, collected through consultations at police boxes, stop-and-search encounters, and criminal investigations, is shared with their security divisions.

Under the scheme, officials will analyze whether such people are unhappy with politicians and whether they may prepare dangerous objects. The results will be shared across police organizations.

The scheme was rolled out nationwide after a pilot run at some prefectural departments from last August.”

We don’t know whether the two incidents could have been prevented if this system had been in place,” a senior police official said. “But we need to be on the lookout for all kinds of information.”

JIJI Press