With the Osaka-Kansai Expo set to open on April 13, 2025, the Kyoto Prefectural Police are stepping up their terrorism vigilance. Just before the opening of the Paris Olympics last year, vandalism occurred in France, causing major disruptions to train services. Kyoto is one of the world's leading tourist destinations, and an increase in visitors is expected, so the Kyoto Prefectural Police are conducting repeated training to prepare for emergencies.
The Osaka-Kansai Expo will be held for 184 days until October 13. The main venue is Yumeshima in Osaka, but since it is also billed as the "Kansai Expo," there will be related events in Kyoto Prefecture during the period, and many visitors are expected from both within Japan and abroad.
Just before the opening of the Paris Olympics last year, vandalism occurred. Facilities along the TGV high-speed train line were destroyed by arson and other means, and the opening was under a state of high alert. The prefectural police are conducting various terrorism response training so that they can deal with such incidents.
On February 26th, in collaboration with JR West, they conducted a training exercise at a JR West facility in Minami-ku, Kyoto City, simulating the discovery of a suspicious person and explosive-like object on the tracks. Representatives from JR Central, Kintetsu, and Kyoto Municipal Subway also visited the exercise.
During the exercise, a JR West employee found a suspicious man with a crowbar while inspecting the tracks, and police officers who responded to an emergency call used a sasumata to apprehend the man. When a suspicious object resembling an explosive was discovered on the tracks, an explosive disposal unit from the riot police confirmed the contents with an X-ray and retrieved it.
On March 13th, one month before the opening of the Expo, they collaborated with a private bus operator to conduct a bus hijacking exercise. They are also training to deal with terrorists who sneak onto passenger ships entering Maizuru Port, and to protect important people visiting the "Keihanna Expo" (Seika Town, Kyoto Prefecture, etc.), which will be held in conjunction with the Osaka-Kansai Expo.
Kashima Kiyohiro, deputy chief of the Kyoto Prefectural Police Security Bureau, said, "We would like to mobilize all of the Kyoto Prefectural Police's resources to take every possible measure to prevent terrorism, ensure the safety of public transportation, and protect VIPs, by utilizing the anti-terrorism network in 25 police stations in Kyoto Prefecture."
