Japan tightens security for Feb. 8 election in wake of ex-PM Abe shooting
Japan's Feb. 8 House of Representatives election will be the third national vote since tightened security measures for senior figures were introduced after the fatal shooting of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2022, Kyodo reports.
As the campaign intensifies, posts hinting at harm toward candidates are spreading on social media, prompting police to strengthen efforts to detect and disrupt potential terrorist threats in online spaces.
On the morning of the campaign's official start on Tuesday in Tokyo's Akihabara district, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Hirofumi Yoshimura, leader of her party's coalition partner, gave kickoff speeches at a joint rally.
Long lines formed for bag checks in the audience area as a heavy police presence was deployed. During her speech, shouts such as "Takaichi resign" were heard, but no major trouble was reported. She is the president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
Following the July 2022 shooting of Abe during an election campaign speech in Nara, Japan's National Police Agency overhauled its security guidelines in August that year, introducing a system to review and revise protection plans by prefectural authorities.
Local police check proposed campaign speech venues, assessing risks from behind or elevated positions and whether enough space exists to maintain distance from the public, while urging campaign teams to use locations confirmed as secure.
In addition to strict security in physical spaces, police are stepping up checks of social media posts suggesting threats to politicians to prevent attacks by potential lone offenders working on their own.
During the previous House of Councillors election in July 2025, police identified 889 such posts, with some cases involving direct contact with the posters and warnings issued, according to investigative authorities.
The police agency said officers search by combining candidate names with coded terms indicating intent to kill and words such as "bomb," reviewing past posts to assess urgency.
A pilot program using generative artificial intelligence is planned for the fiscal year beginning in April 2026 to improve efficiency, the agency added.
An agency official said individuals making threats often keep posting on social media out of a desire for recognition, adding that while monitoring posts is time-consuming, it can help detect early signs of planned terrorism and inform preventive measures.
It was reported earlier, official campaigning began across Japan on Tuesday for the House of Representatives election on Feb. 8, as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi seeks a fresh mandate in continuing her economic and security policies with her Liberal Democratic Party's coalition ally.