East Japan Railway Co. said Tuesday it will install cameras on all of its trains to enhance security.
The railway operator known as JR East plans to place the cameras on all new cars to be made from the current fiscal year, which started this month, in addition to some 13,000 existing ones.
It plans to complete the installation on trains on Tokyo's Yamanote loop line, which circles the capital's central areas, ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
JR East President Yuji Fukasawa said the company has judged that "cameras are an efficient way to boost security on trains and at stations."
The move was prompted by a self-immolation on a Tokaido Shinkansen Line train connecting Tokyo and Shin-Osaka in June 2015, which resulted in the death of a woman in her 50s and injuries to 26 other passengers.
Some shinkansen and Saikyo Line trains linking Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture have already been equipped with cameras, according to JR East.
Among other railway operators, Tokyu Corp., Tokyo Metro Co. and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, which runs the Toei Subway, are also planning to install security cameras on all train cars.