Monday, April 5, 2004

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Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi observed the efforts for terrorism alerts and shoreline measures conducted at Narita International Airport. Narita International Airport places eighth and second in the world for the number of air travelers and the volume of air cargo, respectively. The airport is under the jurisdiction of the Chiba Prefectural Police Department which has units that are in charge of cases involving the use of firearms; terrorist attacks using nuclear, biological and chemical weapons; and a bomb disposal unit in charge of explosives. In arriving at Narita International Airport, Prime Minister Koizumi encouraged the police units that engage in these counterterrorism measures at the airport. Then Prime Minister Koizumi observed a series of different security efforts such as baggage inspection with the latest explosives-detection device; a device that detects inflammable materials without opening the containers; the latest identification device for forged passports; measures against illegal trafficking by using dogs trained for explosives and narcotic drug detection; body temperature check with the use of thermography as a measure against severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). After having observed these efforts, Prime Minister Koizumi said, "There is a need to continue with the efforts to reduce the number of illegal entries. I understand that such measure will cause public inconvenience, but I ask for your cooperation in the interest of safety."