Japan PM to Consider Crime Prevention Measures in Budget Proposal; Ishiba Says LDP HQ Attack Will Not Disrupt Election

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:31 JST, October 22, 2024

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced Tuesday that he will consider boosting crime prevention measures in a supplementary budget proposal for the current fiscal year, in response to a recent series of robberies committed by people recruited through social media for “dark part-time jobs.”

Ishiba was briefed on the cases by National Police Agency Commissioner General Yasuhiro Tsuyuki the same day.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Ishiba said he intends to expand the monitoring of fraudulent advertisements on social media and the community patrolling conducted by local voluntary crime prevention groups by car.

“If necessary, I want to improve the situation using the supplementary budget,” he said at the Prime Minister’s Office.

Regarding Saturday’s attack on the Liberal Democratic Party’s headquarters and the Prime Minister’s Office, Ishiba said, “We will proceed with the [House of Representatives] election as planned,” so as to show that democracy will not yielding to violence.