Japan to Boost Antiterror Steps after Murder on Bullet Train

June 11, 2018

Tokyo- Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga instructed Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary for Crisis Management Kiyotaka Takahashi on Monday to beef up measures against terrorism, after three passengers were assaulted on a bullet train on the Tokaido Shinkansen Line on Saturday.

In the incident, a man was killed and two women were injured by a knife-wielding attacker on the Shinkansen bullet train on Saturday night.

The Japanese government plans to draw up measures to ensure security in public transportation ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics as well as make efforts to prevent any recurrence of such incidents.

"We have to be on the alert and fully prepared against terrorist threats," Suga told a press conference the same day.

He also said that the government will make all-out efforts to promote all sorts of counterterrorism measures, with the prime minister's office running as a command center against terrorism.

Measures such as security checks before passengers get on bullet trains are likely to be a subject for later discussions, an informed source said.

Suga expressed his condolences to the dead victim and sympathy for the injured passengers, describing the incident as "extremely heinous." Jiji Press