East Japan Railway Co. said Tuesday it will accelerate and expand its plan to install security cameras on shinkansen and local trains in the wake of a recent deadly knife attack on passengers and increasing vandalism.
The operator aims to equip 8,300 Tokyo area commuter train cars and 200 bullet train carriages with cameras.
JR East said earlier this year that security cameras will be placed in trains running on Tokyo's Yamanote Line and all new train cars as they are introduced.
The railway operator also plans to install security cameras in driver's cabins on some 2,500 cars in the capital region in response to a recent increase in break-in incidents resulting in equipment damage and theft.
Some shinkansen and local cars have already been equipped with security cameras after a suicide blaze on a bullet train killed a passenger and injured dozens in 2015.
In early June, a man went on a deadly random attack with a cleaver on a crowded bullet train, killing one person and wounding two others. The incident led to more calls for enhanced security measures.
JR East said eight security cameras will be installed in each local line car.
Separately, the company is aiming to develop an onboard device to monitor railway tracks during regular service and introduce it on about 70 percent of its train lines in its service areas of northeastern, eastern and central Japan by March 2021 as a labor-saving measure, JR East officials said.
