Police officers conduct a search operation at the site of a large fire occurred following an earthquake in Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan, Jan 13, 2024. (KYODO NEWS VIA AP)

TOKYO - Japan's National Police Agency said Friday it will install around 1,000 security cameras to prevent burglaries and other crimes in the quake-hit areas in central Japan, local media reported.

The NPA as well as Ishikawa and other prefectural police forces will contribute about 600 cameras, while the agency plans to procure the remaining 400 using 135 million yen ($915,000) from reserve funds in its fiscal 2023 budget, Kyodo News reported.

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The police had confirmed a total of 32 criminal cases in the hardest-hit prefecture of Ishikawa as of Wednesday evening, including burglaries at evacuated homes and thefts in evacuation centers, according to the report.

Police have already increased the number of security cameras in the cities of Wajima and Suzu, which were severely damaged by a series of strong quakes of up to 7.6 magnitude on New Year's Day this year, it added.

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In Ishikawa, a total of 41,834 houses were damaged in the earthquake, while the number of evacuees has topped 14,000, according to a prefectural tally released Thursday.