Kyoto's biggest shopping street, Shijo Street, installed 82 security cameras Friday, outnumbering the some 50 set up in Tokyo's Kabukicho red-light district to become the most security camera-equipped shopping street in Japan.

"We hope to manage the cameras while taking into consideration protection of personal information," said Ryotaro Takahashi, chief of the Shijo Haneikai Street Promotion Associations.

Takahashi said he hopes the cameras will help curb crime.

According to the group, the cameras are placed at 50-meter intervals on both sides of the shopping arcade, covering about 1,100 meters.

A facility of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone West Corp. will manage the images, which can only be accessed by using several passwords.

The images will not be provided to police without the approval of the association's board of directors or of the board chairman, its members said.