East Japan Railway Co. said Tuesday it will inspect the belongings of some passengers during the Tokyo Olympics at major stations in the metropolitan area in cooperation with police, as part of measures to prevent crime and terrorism.
It is the first time that the major train operator, better known as JR East, has decided to conduct such baggage inspections. On the same day, Central Japan Railway Co. said it will also carry out similar security checks at stations of shinkansen bullet trains in the Tokyo area.
During the 17-day Olympics that will begin July 23 and the Paralympics, JR East plans to inspect belongings with the consent of passengers after looking for suspicious individuals using detection dogs and security cameras.
If the individuals reject cooperation, they could be asked to leave train stations, JR East said, adding the baggage inspections will not continue after the Paralympics end on Sept. 5.
The security checks became possible after an ordinance revision of the transport ministry took effect last week.
