Roundup: Japan feels unprepared for major terrorist attack despite new gov't measures

The majority of Japanese people believe that the nation is not sufficiently prepared to handle a major act of terrorism, such as the fatal attacks that occurred in Paris last month, despite Japan playing host to a number of high profile international events over the next five years.

According to the results of a survey published Tuesday by Japan's public broadcaster NHK, 70 percent of people fear that Japan is unprepared for a major terrorist attack, compared to just 1 percent who feel the country is fully prepared, and 19 percent who feel the nation is prepared to some extent.

The latest figures come despite the government earlier this month bringing forward the launch of its special anti-terrorism intelligence unit which is now charged with information gathering on global militant groups.

The new counter-terrorism unit operates under the banner of the Foreign Ministry, but is headed up by the prime minister's office and comprises a number of other governmental and security-related entities, with the unit's launch date brought forward in light of the Nov. 13 Paris attacks.

Japan is seeking to ramp up its efforts to fortify itself ahead of the hosting of a number of high profile international events, including the Group of Seven summit next year, but NHK's poll suggests that terror-linked jitters remain rife among civilians here.

The newly-launched counter-terrorism unit will purportedly bolster the government's abilities to crackdown on potential terrorist attacks here before they occur, by boosting intelligence sharing with other countries, with the government's first test most likely being the upcoming Ise-Shima summit in May 2016 in Mie Prefecture that will gather leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told a ministerial meeting earlier this month that the global threat from terrorism is "extremely severe" and as such Japan must do its utmost to counter potential threats here, particular as the nation will, along with the G7 summit, also be hosting the Rugby World Cup in 2019 and the Olympic Games in 2020.

"The situation in international terrorism has never been more severe. With the G7 summit and the Olympics and Paralympics in sight, our country must take the best possible measures in cooperation with the international community," Abe previously told the ministerial meeting.

The unit comprises around 20 specialists gathered from relevant government and security-related organizations, with another 20 experts on terrorism and regional issues being deployed to areas in the the Middle East, North and West Africa, Southeast Asia and South Asia.

The interrelatedness of the new entity is supposed to ensure the quick gathering and transmission of information, both from international sources as well as within the unit itself, government officials said, with all information being rapidly relayed to the prime minister's office.

Japan's understanding of regional issues and ability to contact directly with stakeholders in countries known to have networks of terrorists was brought into question by a government panel review recently, which concluded the government was lacking in numerous areas.

This was evidenced by the failed negotiations to save the lives of two Japanese civilians, one a freelance journalist, the other a contractor, who were publicly executed by so-called Islamic State militants in Syria.

Japan's National Police Agency (NPA) has separately said it will bolster its own information gathering capabilities with an eye on specifically protecting the lives of Japanese citizens, with officials from the agency also referencing the killings by the Islamic State of two Japanese citizens as well as other international terrorist attacks that have involved Japanese citizens, such as the deadly attacks at a Tunisian museum this year.

The NPA concluded following the issuance of an annual report on the matter that the possibility exists that Japanese civilians could be caught up in terrorist attack in the future.

Noting that the Islamic State had named Japan, along with the likes of the United States, France and the U.K., among others, as one of its primary targets, officials here have said that there are already IS sympathizers and supporters living in Japan that could be radicalized to the point of carrying out attacks, and that they couldn't rule out the possibility that terrorist "sleeper cells" were already in position here just waiting for orders from overseas leaders to carry out attacks.

Officials from the NPA said following its annual report that there are a number of "soft targets" in Japan and as such the relevant officials including the police would have to step up their information gathering initiatives and liaise closely with oversees security organs.

Surveillance at the nation's ports and airports would also have to be stepped up the NPA officials have said, in a bid to prevent would-be terrorists and weapons from gaining access to the country and on Tuesday the government announced it would increase the number of immigration officers at two of the nation's airports to deal with growing numbers of foreigners visiting Japan.

"The number of visitors has been increasing at a faster pace than expected," an official from the Ministry of Justice's immigration bureau was quoted as saying Tuesday.

Abe is planning to continue to step up the nation's counter-terrorism measures, while trying to attract more foreign visitors, with 20 million visitors being targeted by 2020, around the time of the Olympic Games.

But corroborating NHK's recent survey, some locals feel that Japan's new security stance has further put the nation at risk, as Abe forcing his publicly condemned security bills through to law means that Japan could now find itself embroiled in overseas conflicts alongside its allies, such as the United States.

"Since WWII we haven't really had to worry about such issues as international terrorism, and even a few years ago a tragedy on the scale of the Paris attacks would've been unimaginable here in Tokyo, but that's no longer the case," Mizuki Hamada, a 35-year-old homemaker, told Xinhua.

"I don't think any country is ever perfectly safe from acts of terrorism, but it has to be said that Japan's chances of being a target for IS or a similar group have gone up significantly since (prime minister) Abe changed Japan's military position," said civil engineer Hayato Suzuki, 57.

"This is not something the Japanese public have asked for, as we've enjoyed peace for the past 70-years since the war, but it may be something we have to deal with in the future, perhaps long after Abe has retired," Suzuki said. Endit