Japanese PM urges to beef up security at care facilities

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday ordered relevant ministries to beef up security at care facilities for disabled people, following Tuesday's knife attack at a care facility in eastern Japan leaving 19 people killed.

Abe made the instruction at a meeting attended by his ministers, including Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare Yasuhisa Shiozaki and Chairperson of the National Public Safety Commission Taro Kono.

During the meeting, Abe ordered a review of the current state system for compulsory hospitalization of people considered at risk of harming themselves or others.

The prime minister asked ministers to consider ways to improve safety at care facilities and the follow-up system for patients discharged from psychiatric facilities following compulsory hospitalization.

Offering condolences to the families of the victims, Abe said it was deplorable that so many innocent, defenseless people were killed and injured.

The attack has left people feeling very anxious for their own safety, said Abe, vowing to thoroughly investigate the case, work out preventive measures and do utmost to prevent a recurrence.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, also present at the meeting, said at a press conference that the facility had installed surveillance cameras, but they were not able to prevent the occurrence of the attack.

He stressed the importance of testing and verifying the effectiveness of countermeasures, as well as fortifying safety precautions.

At least 19 people were killed and 25 injured in the knife attack early Tuesday morning at a care facility for people with mental disabilities in Kanagawa Prefecture, west of Tokyo, making it one of Japan's deadliest mass killings since World War II.

The 26-year-old suspect named as Satoshi Uematsu was reportedly sent letters to local politicians in February in which he threatened to kill many people with intellectual disabilities.

After that, he was committed to a mental hospital in February, but was released in early March. His hospitalization took place under the law which authorizes hospitalize persons without their consent if they are considered to pose a danger to themselves or other people. Endit