Japan to Boost Antiterrorism Capabilities as Host of 2016 G-7 Summit

Tokyo, Nov. 17 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government will strengthen countermeasures against terrorism in the wake of the terror attacks in Paris last week, aiming to better prepare for a summit of the Group of Seven major countries that will be held in the central Japan prefecture of Mie in May. Japan will also boost information gathering ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. At a meeting of the National Security Council on Tuesday afternoon, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that he wants ministers of his cabinet to make the utmost efforts to prevent terrorist attacks in advance through cooperation with the international community. The prime minister instructed the ministers to take all possible measures to ensure the safety of Japanese nationals at home and abroad. In a basic policy on the security of the Ise-Shima summit in Mie that was compiled in September, the government focused on stricter immigration checks and information gathering in Japan and abroad. Based on the policy, Justice Minister Mitsuhide Iwaki said at a press conference on Tuesday that he has instructed regional immigration officers to carry out stricter passport checks. The government will also work on improving information gathering and analysis. In response to the hostage crisis in January in which two Japanese nationals were killed, purportedly by the Islamic State militant group, the government decided to create a unit to gather international terrorist information at the Foreign Ministry. Following the terror assaults in Paris on Friday, the government will accelerate its efforts to establish the unit. The government is considering sending officials of the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office and the National Policy Agency to diplomatic missions in the Middle East, sources familiar with the matter said. Meanwhile, some officials of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party are calling for a law to criminalize involvement in conspiracies to commit crimes including terrorism. At a party executive meeting on Tuesday, LDP Vice President Masahiko Komura underlined the need for legislation to revise the law to punish organized crimes in order to realize such criminalization. Still, Komeito, the LDP's coalition partner, is cautious about submitting the legislation to the next year's ordinary session of the Diet, Japan's parliament, out of concerns over a fall in its support rate ahead of the House of Councillors election next summer. END