Japan’s police are turning to artificial intelligence (AI) to identify individuals who appear likely to commit “terrorist attacks” based on their social media posts, but observers say the move could backfire by sweeping up innocent citizens engaging in normal political discussion.
The National Police Agency is seeking 49.5 million yen (US$338,000) in next year’s budget for a pilot project that would use AI to analyse online activity and flag individuals deemed potential threats.
Officials say the move is necessary to counter a sharp rise in threatening posts on social media – particularly those targeting politicians. Ahead of July’s general election, police identified 889 online posts considered potential signs of an impending attack.
One message on the Instagram feed of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba read, “It would not be surprising if someone tried to kill you, so you should wear a helmet and a bulletproof vest.”
Shortly before former prime minister Fumio Kishida was due to give a campaign speech outside a station in Chiba prefecture, a message appeared on his X page stating, “I’ll kill you if you come.”
In that incident, police were able to identify the poster and issued a warning. The person who wrote the message told police that he had posted it when he was drunk, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported.
