TOKYO - Japanese police will expand use of body-worn cameras nationwide from fiscal 2027 after trials showed they were effective in providing evidence and verifying that investigative procedures were followed appropriately, the National Police Agency said Friday.
The agency has requested about 170 million yen ($1 million) for the year starting April 2027 to cover related costs for around 2,000 cameras.
Trials began in September last year in 13 prefectural police departments, covering community affairs, traffic enforcement and crowd control operations.
Trials were conducted for community affairs in Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka prefectures until November. Footage was used as evidence in a case of obstruction of official duties, in which a Fukuoka Prefectural Police officer who had intervened to mediate a dispute -- while the incident, including police questioning, was being recorded -- was kicked by a man.
In another case, a suspect in drug-related cases claimed to have been forcibly taken in for questioning, but video footage confirmed that there were no issues.
While Niigata, Aichi and Kochi prefectural polices conducted trials in traffic enforcement operations for six months, supervisors used footage on around 160 occasions to check whether procedures for catching traffic offenders had been done by the book.
Some drivers who were stopped by police said they think it is good that cameras record questioning, according to the agency.
Yearlong trials for crowd control in public places, such as event venues and railway stations, are being conducted by police in nine prefectures, including Hokkaido and Hiroshima.
In more than 10 cases during the three kinds of trials, people showed resistance to being filmed. When officers were unable to gain consent even after explaining the purpose of the recording, they handed the matter over to an officer not wearing a camera, the agency said.
Police considered introducing cameras amid cases in which the appropriateness of street questioning and traffic enforcement was called into question.
"Video footage provides an objective and accurate record of when something happened, who was involved and what they did," an agency official said, stressing the usefulness of the cameras.
