• 
• 
• 

On December 15, 2017, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the 28th Ministerial Meeting Concerning Measures Against Crime at the Prime Minister's Office.

At the meeting, the draft Plan for the Promotion of Measures against Repeat Criminal Offences, as well as the current state of global terrorism and countermeasures were discussed.

Based on the discussion, the Prime Minister said,

“Four days ago, there was an attempted suicide bomb attack in a New York City subway station. The threat of terrorism is increasing, including lone-wolf terror attacks by people who have been rapidly radicalized over the internet. As we approach the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, the prevention of terrorist attacks through coordination with the international community is an important duty vested to the Government.

I would like you all to implement speedily the measures identified in the recently-compiled outline of counter-terrorism promotion measures.

In particular, the key to proactive measures for the prevention of terrorism is information. In order to exert every possible effort to prevent terrorist attacks, the Prime Minister’s Office will act as a control tower, and we will expand and strengthen the activities of the Counter Terrorism Unit - Japan (CTU-J) system. I also want a center for sharing global terrorism and relevant information, which we will newly establish, to thoroughly and rapidly collect, analyze, and share relevant information across all ministries and agencies.

In addition, taking into consideration the repeated terrorist attacks overseas involving the use of vehicles and other means, we must urgently consider measures against terrorist attacks on soft targets. Please do everything possible to prevent that.

Turning our attention to security in general, currently about half of all people arrested in Japan are repeat offenders. Today, we have approved a Plan for the Promotion of Measures against Repeat Criminal Offences, which contains 115 concrete measures, including the enhancement of support for substance abusers and elderly convicts, and the promotion of the activities of cooperating employers. It is important that we steadily implement lasting initiatives. I would like all ministers to work closely together to thoroughly implement these measures, while also cooperating with members of the private sector. 

Recently we have seen the seemingly endless occurrence of incidents that have caused anxiety among the public, including the series of wooden ships that have been drifting ashore, or the appalling murders in Zama City. I would like all ministers to steadily promote each of these countermeasures with a strong sense of leadership, to ensure that Japan is one of the safest countries in the world, where people can live with peace of mind.”