Police and the Ground Self-Defense Force plan to hold a joint counterterrorism drill in Hokkaido on Oct. 20 designed to address the possibility of armed terrorists entering the country, officials of the National Police Agency and Defense Agency said.
It will be the first live, joint police-GSDF drill based on a terrorism scenario.
The police and the GSDF conducted joint drills on paper in all 47 prefectures between November 2002 and July.
In the upcoming drill, the Hokkaido Prefectural Police and the GSDF's Northern Army, based in Sapporo, will conduct counterterrorism exercises at several locations, including the GSDF's Makomanai garrison in the capital.
About 150 Hokkaido police officers and 250 members of the Northern Army will respond to a scenario in which terrorists with powerful weapons have entered Japan and police need help because they are overwhelmed.
Led by patrol vehicles and motorcycles, police and troops will move through Sapporo's streets in about 12 police and GSDF vehicles, and some will repel from helicopters.