A total of 106,000 police officers nationwide will be on duty overnight from Dec. 31 to Jan. 1 to deal with any possible problems at the turn of the millennium, the National Police Agency said Wednesday. The total is 2 1/2 times more than the usual 40,000 officers on overnight duty. A total of 105,000 prefectural police officers will be mobilized, including 24,200 from the Metropolitan Police Department. The NPA will also increase officials on overnight duty, the agency said. The agency had ordered prefectural police to prepare for the night by strengthening communication channels within each organization. The agency held a meeting Monday of a special task force and checked each division's preparations. Setsuo Tanaka, vice chairman of the committee, told participants that police must do everything they can within the limited time they have and be fully prepared for the night.
