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On December 21, 2018, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the 30th Ministerial Meeting Concerning Measures Against Crime at the Prime Minister's Office.
 
At the meeting, there was discussion on measures to ensure the safety of children as well as the current state of global terrorism and countermeasures.
 
Based on the discussion, the Prime Minister said,
 
“This year, we have seen a series of grievous incidents, including crimes being inflicted on children on their school commutes in blind spots where they are unsupervised, and cases of children losing their lives as a result of domestic child abuse. There has also been no end to cases of child sexual abuse stemming from the use of social networking and other sites.
 
It is our responsibility, as adults, to protect the lives of children, who bear the future, and create an environment in which they can grow in a safe and healthy way. I ask all of you to work across the boundaries of each ministry and agency, as well as in cooperation with the private sector, to steadily implement effective measures, such as the further dissemination and promotion of mechanisms to filter phones used by children, the further installation of security cameras along school commutes, and other measures.
 
Next year, we will host the G20 Osaka Summit and then the Rugby World Cup. The Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games will be held the year after that. We can afford no delays in the promotion of counterterrorism measures given the currently severe state of international terrorism.
 
Intelligence gathering is essential for preventing terrorism before it occurs. The Government’ efforts to work in unity through the CTUJ (Counter Terrorism Unit – Japan, an international counterterrorism intelligence unit) have led to the major result of the release of Mr. Jumpei Yasuda, who was being held hostage in Syria.
 
Please continue to gather information related to terrorism in each relevant ministry and agency, and to thoroughly integrate, analyze and share this information through the center to share information on countermeasures against international terrorism that was established within the Cabinet Secretariat this year.
 
Additionally, please exert every effort not only for counterterrorism measures for large-scale events, but also those for important infrastructure, including soft targets, such as public transportation networks, and lifelines.
 
Public safety is one of Japan’s strengths that we can boast of to the world. I want each minister to exercise strong leadership and make every effort to promote various measures such that not only the Japanese public but also visitors from abroad will experience for themselves that Japan is the world’s safest country.”