Subject: [cwj 58] Thousands of police secure Japanese summit island
From: Corporate Watch in Japanese <cwj@corpwatch.org>
Date: Sun, 16 Jul 2000 20:17:50 -0700
Seq: 58
Monday, July 17, 2000 Thousands of police secure Japanese summit island OKINAWA ISLAND, Japan, July 17 (AFP) - Japan has launched a ground, air and sea operation to guard against terrorist attacks at a Group of Eight leaders' summit in the southern island of Okinawa. A total 22,000 Japanese police, including 1,500 from Okinawa island, and 2,200 coast guard officers have been drafted into one of the tightest security cordons in Japan since World War II. The biggest fear was a lone terrorist landing on the shores of this semi-tropical island and planting a bomb during the July 21-23 summit, with guests including US President Bill Clinton, police said. "It is one of the biggest security measures we have implemented," Yukinori Morita, an official for the National Public Safety Commission's summit office, told AFP. "Our foremost mission is to secure the safety of participating heads of state and prevent anyone from disrupting the summit at all costs," the official said. Threats from lone terrorists or violent radical groups were being assessed, Morita said. Even tombs were being searched as possible hiding places. Japanese streets are safe compared with most countries' and violent protests are now rare. But security complacency was shattered when the Aum Supreme Truth doomsday cult launched a poison gas attack on Tokyo's subway system in 1995, killing 12 people and injuring thousands. And protests have already been whipped up against the 25,000 US troops stationed in Okinawa since a drunken US marine allegedly broke into an apartment and fondled a 14-year-old girl this month. Extreme Marxist radicals within Japan are also feared to be capable of launching an attack. "We are keeping an eye on a variety of terrorist and protest groups including anti-US, anti-US bases in Okinawa, Japanese radicals and Islamic fundamentalists," said Morita. Islamic fundamentalists were under special scrutiny because of Clinton's presence, he said. At home, the Japan Revolutionary Communist League and similarly named Japan Revolutionary Communist League's Revolutionary Marxist Faction were under watch. "They may attack a summit conference building," said Morita. Many details of the security operation were kept secret. But police said they would be using 20-30 helicopters and dozens of dogs trained to sniff out explosives. "Our foremost concern is a lone terrorist who arrives from the shores to quietly plant a bomb," said Morita. "Since Okinawa is surrounded by the sea, we will closely and carefully monitor every move on the ocean." The Japanese coastguard is backing up the operation. "We are implementing full-scale security measures," said a coastguard spokesman. "It is very easy for terrorists to sneak in from everywhere in Okinawa because the island is surrounded by the ocean," he said. "What is more, the summit conference room, an airport and hotels are all facing the sea and they are the easiest targets for terrorists. We are giving very careful, detailed thought to our security measures." They will be using 60 waterbikes, 100 patrol ships, 40 dinghies, 20 helicopters and 2,200 officers. Polic want to avoid the mistakes of July 1975 when leftist radicals managed to throw a molotov cocktail at Prince Akihito, now emperor, by hiding in war-time bomb shelter in Okinawa. The shelter, used by schoolgirls in World War II, had been turned into a shrine and police had failed to search it because they considered the place sacred. "We will check every plausible area so as not to make the same mistake again," said Morita. Okinawan tombs, unique structures made large enough for up to 20 mourners to commune with the dead, were being searched by police with owners' permission. "People are very cooperative and we truly appreciate their cooperation and understanding," Morita said. FAIR USE NOTICE. This document contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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