The program aims to establish the world’s most advanced inspection capabilities according to a plan announced by the ministry in June last year.
As part of the program, AI-based analysis will be used to sort through huge amounts of data on past cases of unlawful import activity, looking for patterns of false descriptions on such matters as price, quantity and weight of goods on import declarations. The information will help pin down importers who should be watched more closely.
To prevent the importing of illegal drugs, the ministry has already started testing a prototype nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) device that uses AI to check X-rayed items and identify possible drug smuggling.
The NQR device sends a pulse via radio waves and can detect drugs hidden in body cavities.
At present, drugs hidden in such a manner can only be confirmed using X-ray machines at hospitals. No country has yet adopted the technique to find illegal drugs.
- Japan Times
A 28-year-old vocational school student in custody over the alleged sexual assault of two girls has been further arrested in a third case, police have revealed, reports TBS News (tokyoreporter.com)
Tokyo Metropoltan Police have arrested a 46-year-old man who is alleged to have attempted to kill a teenage girl after she requested that he do so online, reports the Mainichi Shimbun (tokyoreporter.com)
Police in Chigasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, have arrested a 76-year-old woman on suspicion of killing her 83-year-old husband with a saw.
(Japan Today)
Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested the president of an adult video (AV) production company over the alleged upload of illegal content to a sales site last year, reports the Asahi Shimbun. (tokyoreporter.com)
Two members of a criminal syndicate were shot during a fight in Isesaki City on Thursday, police said, reports Jiji Press (tokyoreporter.com)
Memorial services held online. Zen meditation apps. Buddhist temple-led match-making services. (Bloomberg)
The remains of a woman who went missing in the devastating 2011 Japan tsunami have been found and identified, police said on Friday, days before the 10th anniversary of the disaster. (aljazeera.com)
Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako have made an online visit to Iwate, one of three northeastern prefectures hit hard by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
(NHK)
Toko Shinoda, a Japanese avant-garde artist internationally renowned for her unique style of abstract sumi ink paintings, has died of natural causes. She was 107.
(Kyodo)
Aichi Prefectural Police have arrested a male teacher over the alleged illicit filming of a woman in Okazaki City last month, reports Chukyo Television Broadcasting (tokyoreporter.com)
A woman in her 30s is believed to have committed suicide by setting herself on fire in the trunk of a vehicle in Hachioji City, police have revealed, reports Fuji News Network (tokyoreporter.com)
A middle school teacher in custody for allegedly abducting a girl last year has been further accused of paying another minor for sex, police have revealed, reports the Asahi Shimbun (tokyoreporter.com)
Shizuoka Prefectural Police have arrested four persons, including a Brazilian national, who are suspected members of a marijuana trafficking ring, reports Fuji News Network. (tokyoreporter.com)
More wayward souls caught up in the glitz and glamour of the illegal sea cucumber trade. (soranews24.com)
A group of Buddhist devotees in Japan subjected themselves to a freezing tradition known as waterfall meditation or Takigyo on February 28, 2021. (South China Morning Post)
Japanese police have arrested a man for fatally wounding a wild deer at a park in Nara City, western Japan.
(NHK)
A man was arrested Sunday for allegedly killing his wife last year by pushing her off a balcony on the ninth floor of an apartment building in western Tokyo, police sources said. (Kyodo)
A manager of an outlet of chain restaurant Saizeriya has been accused of burglarizing another outlet, police have revealed, reports NHK (tokyoreporter.com)
The father of three children who were found dead in southwestern Japan has sustained serious injuries after jumping from a hotel building.
(NHK)
Authorities are investigating a vandalism and fire at a Buddhist temple in the Little Tokyo section of downtown Los Angeles.
(Japan Today)