NPA Beef Up Dignitary Protection for Approaching Elections and G7 Summit

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:09 JST, January 13, 2023

With local elections and the G7 summit in Hiroshima on the horizon, the National Police Agency have declared their intentions to beef up dignitary protection by introducing new measures.

At a press conference on Thursday, NPA Commissioner General Yasuhiro Tsuyuki commented on the fatal shooting of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe six months ago and made reference to the unified local elections scheduled for April and the Group of Seven summit set to be held in May, saying, “We will fully launch new dignitary protection measures [before those major events].”

Following the shooting incident, the NPA introduced a new system to examine security plans for dignitary protection drafted by prefectural police. Tsuyuki revealed that preliminary examinations are underway to check security plans at the draft stage as part of measures to prepare for the unified local elections – a time when the police need to provide more personal protection than is usual.

As for the G7 summit, Tsuyuki said, “We need to enhance our protection capabilities and reinforce the system of the security department.”