The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) established a new unit specialising in investigating lone-wolf terrorism, i.e. attacks committed by people who do not belong to any organisations or groups on Tuesday, Xinhua News Agency reported.

The establishment of the first such police unit in Japan is aimed at preventing lone gunman terrorist attacks on important people and facilities.

The move follows a series of such attacks in recent years, including the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2022 and a bomb attack targeting then-Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in 2023.