Police have decided to install 190 video cameras in 10 cities throughout Japan, including Tokyo and Osaka, this fiscal year to combat crimes in the night, the National Police Agency said Thursday.
The cameras will be installed on utility poles and spaced around 80 meters apart on roads, streets and parks in the designated cities and can be turned on and off by switches directly linked to police stations, the agency said.
The agency said it will examine the effectiveness of the cameras in reducing crime for a year and increase the number of cameras and locations if they make an impact.
The 10 places where the cameras will be initially installed are Sumida Ward, in Tokyo; Toyonaka, in Osaka; Iwamizawa, in Hokkaido; Furukawa, in Miyagi Prefecture; Tsuruoka, in Yamagata Prefecture; Joetsu, in Nigata Prefecture; Toyama; Kasugai, in Aichi Prefecture; Zentsuji, in Kagawa Prefecture; and the city of Okinawa.