Tokyo, Sept. 24 (Jiji Press)–An expert panel under Japan’s National Police Agency in a proposal compiled Thursday called for an early introduction of remote analysis of smartphones used by members of “tokuryu” loosely organized anonymous criminal groups. The panel highlighted the need for new measures to prevent damage related to crimes by tokuryu groups. The NPA plans to submit a bill to revise the police duties execution law to an extraordinary parliamentary session seen to be convened early next month, after working out details of the proposed remote analysis. For special fraud and robberies, tokuryu groups use highly confidential communication apps featuring functions such as encryption and automatic deletion of messages. Up until now, conventional investigation methods, such as wiretapping, have been unable to reveal the crime situation involving tokuryu organizations, and it is therefore difficult to identify high-ranking members and targets of the crimes. The proposed measure will involve obtaining information by remotely operating smartphones believed to belong to tokuryu masterminds and breaking down anonymity. Specifically, police will first identify such smartphones through investigations and then obtain court warrants, access the devices, gain intelligence on crime plans, such as potential victims, and prevent both the crimes and damage. The remote analysis will be conducted in cases in which there is no other means to obtain information despite a risk of serious crime damage. Target devices will be limited to those that can be reasonably recognized as being used by tokuryu groups, such as for communications between members and fraud-related phone calls. To be obtained through the remote smartphone analysis will likely be information on crime plans and tokuryu members, among other things. Police will erase all irrelevant information, and there would be no continuous police monitoring. While the remote analysis will likely be implemented in the form of hacking using investigative programs, police have not revealed details out of concerns about the possibility of tokuryu groups taking countermeasures. Prior court approval will be required as the remote analysis concerns the confidentiality of communications guaranteed by the Constitution. Only officers in charge of the analysis, who will be picked by the NPA commissioner-general, can access information contained in the hacked tokuryu smartphones, and only necessary information will be relayed to police investigators on the ground. All cases in which the remote analysis was used would be reported to public safety commissions for screenings to ensure the appropriateness of the investigation method. People subject to the remote analysis will be informed of the use of the method to the maximum extent possible after the fact. At a meeting of the panel held Thursday, its head, Toshihiro Kawaide, a professor at the University of Tokyo, said, “We want police to achieve steady results in preventing damage while gaining public trust.” “We will swiftly work out the details of the (proposed) system so that we can introduce it as soon as possible to prevent serious damage,” Yoshiyuki Morimoto, head of the NPA commissioner-general’s secretariat, said. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
