(Sankei: March 25, 2016 – p. 27)

 In preparation for the G7 Summit (Ise-Shima Summit) in May, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) held joint security drills on March 24 based on various scenarios of terrorist attacks. About 1,000 police participated in the exercises, which were held at a training area in Koto Ward.

 One of the exercises was based on the scenario of heavily armed terrorists firing bullets, setting off a bomb, and then holing up in a bus. The MPD Emergency Response Team (ERT), an elite group of officers specially qualified to deal with armed persons, subdued the terrorists, and the bomb disposal unit transported the explosives to a safe place.

 In the security police (SP) exercises, SPs skillfully worked together to block a suspicious vehicle that was moving toward a VIP’s vehicle. The SPs also demonstrated capturing illegal drones by casting nets from the ground.

 Yoshimi Ogata, head of the MPD’s security unit, said, “There were the terrorist attacks in Paris, and now many citizens have lost their lives in Belgium. We will do everything in our power to protect Japan’s capital from terrorism.”