The government plans to set up a panel to discuss measures to prevent crimes by foreigners in the wake of the recent arrest of a Peruvian man on suspicion of killing a 7-year-old girl in Hiroshima, Justice Minister Seiken Sugiura said Friday.

"If there is any problem in allowing foreigners into the country, we should let a working group headed by the senior vice minister study the issue carefully," Sugiura said at a news conference. The senior vice minister of the Justice Ministry is Taro Kono, a Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker.

After the arrest of Juan Carlos Pizzaro Yagi, Sugiura said the incident "is a very sad one, but I'm relieved the suspect was arrested quickly."

Pizzaro Yagi, 30, who is suspected of killing Airi Kinoshita in Hiroshima on Nov. 22, served a prison term in Peru after sexually molesting a girl, Peruvian newspapers reported Thursday.

The arrest took place amid increasing public concern about crime and reports that crimes involving foreigners are on the rise.

In 2003, the government decided on an action plan aimed at halving the number of crimes committed by foreigners within five years.

But the number of criminal cases involving foreign nationals, excluding permanent residents, rose 16 percent last year to a record 47,124, according to the National Police Agency.

A task force of the ruling LDP compiled a set of immigration policy proposals in June, including one that would oblige foreigners staying in the country for more than 90 days to carry cards embedded with memory chips that would store data such as the holder's name, nationality and place of work.