Police to Use Segway to Enhance Haneda Airport Security

Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department said Monday that the Segway two-wheel electric vehicle will be introduced to strengthen security at Tokyo International Airport at Haneda, ahead of key international events in Japan.

It is the first time for Japanese police to use the Segway, which can travel about 40 km per charge and 20 kph.

The MPD said its anti-terror squad for the airport, set up last April, will start using two Segways at the departure lobby on Tuesday, ahead of the next year's Group of Seven summit in Mie Prefecture and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.

Stepping on the Segway's floor 20 cm above the gound, police officers will have wider views and can easily find suspicious items and people.

Introduction of the Segway is expected to have deterrence effects, too, because a policeman on the vehicle will stand out on the lobby, the police also said, adding the police-version Segway is also able to catch the eye with blinking red and blue lights, though it has no siren.

According to Segway Japan Ltd., security companies and other private-sector corporate customers have already been using the two-wheeler, including Chubu Centrair International Airport's management company, which adopted it in 2008 to enhance security.