Osaka Governor Yoshimura’s ‘Tight Security’ Mystery: Bulletproof Briefcases and Guarded Vigilance

On November 6, 2011, Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura held a regular press conference at the prefectural government office. However, something was different from usual. A member of the Osaka Prefectural Police, who had not been present since his inauguration, was on guard duty.

Toward the end of the press conference, a reporter asked, “The guards have become very strict.However, I would like to refrain from going into details.

The same question was asked by a reporter at the regular press conference on November 9, to which Governor Yoshimura responded, “The prefectural police told me to check with them, so please check with the prefectural police.

This security guarding, as far as this writer has been able to confirm, seems to be a little different from the usual security guarding. Normally, the security guard is supposed to protect “the Prime Minister, state guests, and other persons whom the Director-General of the National Police Agency determines are likely to cause harm to the public security of the country.

Based on this, when providing security, security guards generally wear a “security guard badge” on the lapel of their suits to indicate that they are security guards (SP badges are worn by SPs of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department).

However, the security guards assigned to protect Governor Yoshimura did not wear such a badge, but instead wore a police badge on their waists. Currently, Governor Yoshimura is guarded by several security guards at all times, but since they are not wearing such badges, the possibility exists that the prefectural police are guarding him on their own this time without being designated by the Commissioner of the National Police Agency. We inquired about this matter to the Osaka Prefectural Police Headquarters, but the response was, “We have no comment on matters concerning the prefectural governor’s police protection.

When the governor holds a press conference, his security guards carry bulletproof briefcases, and in the event of an attack, the briefcases are deployed to secure the target on all sides and evacuate him to a safe location. In the event of an attack, the briefcase is deployed and the target is secured on all sides and evacuated to a safe location.

In some cases, local government leaders have been subject to protective actions depending on the situation at the time, and there are currently several leaders in other prefectures who have been subject to protective actions.

The governor of Osaka Prefecture, Toru Hashimoto, who took office in February 2008, was the subject of a protective detail from the time he first took office, and the protection continued when he was elected mayor of Osaka City. However, the security guards at that time always wore the “security guard badge” when performing their duties. On the other hand, Ichiro Matsui, who later became governor of Osaka Prefecture, finished his term without a security guard.

Governor Yoshimura suddenly became the target of a protective detail. Since the attacks on former Prime Minister Abe and Prime Minister Kishida, the protection of Japan’s dignitaries has become stricter than before, and the governor of Osaka Prefecture, as mentioned above, is no exception. The security measures are likely to continue.