An expert panel under Japan’s National Police Agency (NPA) has recommended granting law enforcement the authority to remotely access smartphones used by members of loosely organized anonymous criminal groups, known as tokuryū. The proposal, compiled on Thursday, aims to enhance police capabilities to prevent crimes such as special fraud and robberies carried out through encrypted and self-deleting communication apps favored by these groups.
The panel emphasized the need to quickly implement new investigative measures, prompting the NPA to plan the submission of a bill to revise the police duties execution law during a possible extraordinary parliamentary session slated for early next month. The revision would enable police to conduct remote smartphone analysis in cases where traditional investigative methods like wiretapping have proven insufficient for uncovering the identities and activities of tokuryū networks.
Under the proposed system, police would first identify devices believed to belong to tokuryū leaders through investigations, then obtain court-issued warrants to remotely access the smartphones. The operation would aim to gather intelligence on criminal plans and potential victims to facilitate preventive actions. This remote analysis would be restricted to cases involving a serious risk of harm and where no other means of obtaining information exist. Targeted devices would be those reasonably suspected of being used by tokuryū members for coordinated communication and fraud-related calls.
Police officials have indicated that the remote access would likely involve deploying investigative software capable of hacking into devices, although details have not been disclosed to avoid enabling countermeasures by criminal groups. The analysis would be conducted only by officers designated by the NPA commissioner-general, with information limited to what is necessary for investigations. To protect privacy rights guaranteed by the Japanese Constitution, prior judicial approval would be mandatory for any remote access.
Further safeguards include restricting the storage of irrelevant data, prohibiting continuous monitoring, and requiring all cases using this method to be reported to public safety commissions for review. Efforts will also be made to inform individuals subjected to remote analysis after the fact, to the greatest extent possible.
Toshihiro Kawakita, professor at the University of Tokyo and head of the expert panel, stated at Thursday’s meeting that the goal is to help police prevent harm effectively while maintaining public trust. Yoshiyuki Morimoto, head of the NPA commissioner-general’s secretariat, affirmed the agency’s commitment to finalizing the system rapidly in order to curb serious damage caused by tokuryū crimes.