Tokyo, Nov. 22 (Jiji Press)–Japanese police will work hard to ensure the safety and security of cyberspace, National Public Safety Commission Chairman Satoshi Ninoyu said in a recent interview with Jiji Press and other media organizations.

“The whole country is being threatened by cyberattacks. The National Police Agency will set up a cybersecurity bureau and a cybersecurity squad next year to fully tackle this issue,” Ninoyu said.

He said that Japan is “facing a mountain of security challenges.” The National Public Safety Commission will play a big role in ensuring public safety and security, said Ninoyu, who was reappointed to the post on Nov. 10 when Prime Minister Fumio Kishida launched his second cabinet.

Asked about a response to child abuse, domestic violence and stalking, Ninoyu said, “I get angry especially when I read newspaper articles on child abuse.”

“Child consultation centers and police need to work closely together to ensure that precious lives are not lost due to abuse,” he said, adding that the same applies to domestic violence and stalking.

He said that the deaths of children in a series of traffic accidents in recent years are “regrettable.” He stressed, “We’ll thoroughly check school zones to prevent similar accidents from occurring.”

Ninoyu also pointed to the need to address safety issues related to elderly drivers. “I’m 77 years old, and stopped driving after a parent and a child were killed in an accident in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro two years ago,” he said, referring to the deaths of a woman and her daughter killed by a runaway car driven by an elderly man in April 2019.

On economic security, he said police will “cooperate with businesses to keep Japanese technologies from flowing out of the country, especially to China.”

Also in the interview, Ninoyu said police are using drones, underwater cameras and other advanced equipment in disaster rescue operations.