NEC Corp. has started a new e-mail service to help city and prefectural boards of education alert elementary and junior high schools and students' parents about suspected prowlers near schools.
NEC's BIGLOBE Net connection service department will send out information on people acting in a suspicious manner after boards of education gauge the accuracy of tips, NEC said.
The new system can spread such information in one keystroke to as many as 1 million recipients simultaneously, it said.
Under the system, boards of education get information on prowlers from police and schools as well as local residents, it said.
The service will be augmented by measures to ensure that the personal data of those providing the system with such sensitive information will be protected, the company said.
The company will charge a board of education 34,650 yen a month for the service as long as the number of registered e-mail addresses doesn't exceed 5,000, it said.
NEC projects that some 200 boards will start subscribing to the service over the next two years.
The company devised the service to help schools and parents deal with a growing number of crimes committed against pupils, some fatal, NEC officials said.