The Japanese National Police Agency reported 336 dangerous posts on social media related to candidates in the Lower House election, issuing warnings after identifying individuals behind these threats.
The National Police Agency of Japan announced the detection of 336 dangerous social media posts related to candidates and protected individuals during the Lower House election period. These posts, which were noted for containing threats such as insinuating violence, prompted police to identify the individuals responsible and issue warnings based on their aggressive content. The monitoring took place over a span of 16 days, from the dissolution of the House of Representatives on January 23 until the day before the voting took place.
In some instances, police were summoned to intervene when individuals who made these threatening posts arrived at campaign venues. Officers conducted stop-and-question procedures to ensure safety, indicating an increased level of vigilance following previous attacks on political figures, notably the shootings in which former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was killed and another attempt against former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
In response to these threats, the National Police Agency has intensified measures against potential lone wolf attackers by establishing the 'Lone Offender Threat Information Integration Center.' This center is tasked with consolidating and analyzing hazardous posts to enable proactive policing, thus aiming to prevent any incidents of violence during political events.
