Law enforcement inJapan is provided mainly byprefectural police under the oversight of theNational Police Agency.[1] The National Police Agency is administered by theNational Public Safety Commission, ensuring that Japan's police are an apolitical body and free of direct central government executive control. They are checked by anindependent judiciary and monitored by a free and activepress.
There are two types of law enforcement officials in Japan, depending on the underlying provision: Police officers of Prefectural Police Departments (prescribed as Judicial police officials (司法警察職員) under Article 189 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (刑事訴訟法,Keiji-soshōhō)), and Special judicial police officials (特別司法警察職員); prescribed in Article 190 of the same law, dealing with specialized fields with high expertise.[2]
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TheJapanese government established a European-style civil police system in 1874, spearheaded by the efforts of statesmanKawaji Toshiyoshi, under the centralized control of the Police Bureau within theHome Ministry to put down internal disturbances and maintain order during theMeiji Restoration. By the 1880s, the police had developed into a nationwide instrument of government control, providing support for local leaders and enforcingpublic morality. They acted as general civil administrators, implementing official policies and thereby facilitating unification and modernization. In rural areas especially, the police had great authority and were accorded the same mixture of fear and respect as the village head. Their increasing involvement in political affairs was one of the foundations of the authoritarian state in Japan in the first half of the 20th century.
The centralized police system steadily acquired responsibilities, until it controlled almost all aspects of daily life, includingfire prevention and mediation oflabor disputes. The system regulatedpublic health, business, factories, and construction, and it issued permits and licenses. ThePeace Talk Law of 1925 gave police the authority to arrest people for "wrong thoughts".Special Higher Police (Tokko) were created to regulate the content of motion pictures, political meetings, and election campaigns. TheImperial Japanese Army'smilitary police (Kempeitai) and theImperial Japanese Navy'sTokkeitai, operating under their respective services and thejustice andhome ministries aided the civilian police in limiting proscribed political activity. After theManchurian Incident of 1931, military police assumed greater authority, leading to friction with their civilian counterparts. After 1937, police directed business activities for the war effort, mobilized labor, and controlled transportation, continuing throughout the rest ofWorld War II.
AfterJapan's surrender in 1945, theSupreme Commander for the Allied Powers retained the prewar police structure, but viewed their organization as undemocratic. A new system was implemented after theDiet passed the1947 Police Law. Contrary to Japanese proposals for a strong, centralized force to deal with postwar unrest, the police system was decentralized. About 1,600 independent municipal forces were established in cities, towns, and villages with 5,000 inhabitants or more, and aNational Rural Police was organized by prefecture. Civilian control was to be ensured by placing the police under the jurisdiction of public safety commissions controlled by theNational Public Safety Commission in the Office of thePrime Minister. The Home Ministry was abolished and replaced by the less powerfulMinistry of Home Affairs, and the police were stripped of their responsibility for fire protection, public health, and other administrative duties.
When most of the occupation forces were transferred toKorea in 1950–51 with theKorean War, the 75,000 strongNational Police Reserve (predecessor of theJapan Ground Self-Defense Force) was formed outside theRegular police organizations to back up the ordinary police during civil disturbances. And pressure mounted for a centralized system more compatible with Japanese political preferences. The 1947 Police Law was amended in 1951 to allow the municipal police of smaller communities to merge with the National Rural Police. Most chose this arrangement, and by 1954 only about 400 cities, towns, and villages still had their own police forces. Under the 1954 amended Police Law, a final restructuring created an even more centralized system in which local forces were organized by prefectures under aNational Police Agency.
The revised Police Law of 1954, still in effect in the 1990s, preserves some strong points of the postwar system, particularly measures ensuring civilian control and political neutrality, while allowing for increased centralization. The National Public Safety Commission system has been retained. State responsibility for maintaining public order has been clarified to include coordination of national and local efforts; centralization of police information, communications, and record keeping facilities; and national standards for training, uniforms, pay, rank, and promotion. Rural and municipal forces were abolished and integrated into prefectural forces, which handled basic police matters. Officials and inspectors in various ministries and agencies continue to exercise special police functions assigned to them in the 1947 Police Law.
According to statistics of theUnited Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, among the 192 member states of the UN, and among the countries reporting statistics of criminal and criminal justice, the incidence rate of violent crimes such as murder, abduction, rape, and robbery is very low in Japan.[3][4][5][6][7]
Theincarceration rate is very low and Japan ranks 209 out of 223 countries. It has an incarceration rate of 41 per 100,000 people. In 2018 the prison population was 51,805 and 10.8% of prisoners were unsentenced.[8]
Japan has a very low rate ofintentional homicide victims. According to theUNODC it ranks 219 out of 230 countries. It has a rate of just 0.20 per 100,000 inhabitants. There were 306 in 2017.[9][10]
The number offirearm related deaths is low. The firearm-related death rate was 0.00 homicide (in 2008), 0.04 suicide (in 1999), 0.01 unintentional (in 1999) and 0.01 undetermined (in 1999) per 100,000 people. There's a gun ownership of 0.6 per 100 inhabitants.[11]
Theintentional death rate is low for homicides with 0.4 per 100,000 people in 2013. However, thesuicide rate is relatively high with 21.7 per 100,000 in 2013.[12]
Prefectural police are established for eachprefecture and have full responsibility for regular police duties for theirarea of responsibility. These prefectural police are primarilymunicipal police with their own authority, but their activities are coordinated by theNational Police Agency and theNational Public Safety Commission.[13] As of 2017, the total strength of police reached approximately 296,700 personnel, including 262,500 police officers, 900 Imperial Guards, and 33,200 civilian staff.[14] Nationwide, there are approximately 23,400 female police officers and 13,000 female civilian staff.[14]
As the central coordinating body for the entire police system, the National Police Agency determines general standards and policies; detailed direction of operations is left to the lower echelons.[15] In a national emergency or large-scale disaster, the agency is authorized to take command of prefectural police forces. In 1989, the agency was composed of about 1,100 national civil servants, empowered to collect information and to formulate and execute national policies. The agency is headed by a Commissioner General who is appointed by the National Public Safety Commission with the approval of thePrime Minister.[15]
The Central Office includes theSecretariat, with divisions for general operations, planning, information, finance, management, and procurement and distribution of police equipment. The NPA operates five bureaus.Citizen oversight is provided by theNational Public Safety Commission.
As of 2017, the NPA has a strength of 2,100 police officers, 900 Imperial Guards, and 4,800 civilian staff, for a total of 7,800 personnel.[14]
All operational police units are organized into prefectural police for eachprefecture. Prefectural police are organized and commanded by their respective Prefectural Police Headquarters, and each one has a Prefectural Public Safety Commission and numerous operational units.[13]
Most prefectural police are simply named the Prefectural Police (県警察,Ken-keisatsu) of their respective prefecture (e.g.Shizuoka Prefectural Police). However, certain prefectural police, especially those serving prefectures with larger populations, have different names:Tokyo's police is theTokyo Metropolitan Police Department (警視庁,Keishi-chō);Hokkaido's is known asDō-keisatsu (道警察); andŌsaka's andKyōto's are known asFu-keisatsu (府警察).
The total strength of the prefectural police is 260,400 police officers and 28,400 civilian staff as of 2018, for a total of approximately 288,000 personnel.[14]
Police officers are divided into eleven ranks:[16]
| Status | Police ranks[16] | Rank insignia | Comparablemilitary ranks[17] | Representative job titles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| shoulder knot | chest badge | ||||
| Government officials | Commissioner General (警察庁長官,Keisatsu-chō Chōkan) |  |  | No counterpart (outside normal ranking) | The Chief of the National Police Agency |
| Superintendent General (警視総監,Keishi-sōkan) |  |  | General | The Chief of theTokyo Metropolitan Police Department | |
| Senior Commissioner (警視監,Keishi-kan) |  |  | Lieutenant general | Deputy Commissioner General, Deputy Superintendent General, The Chief of Regional Police Bureau, The Chief of Prefectural Police Headquarters | |
| Commissioner (警視長,Keishi-chō) |  |  | Major general | The Chief of Prefectural Police Headquarters | |
| Assistant Commissioner (警視正,Keishi-sei) |  |  | Colonel | The Chief of Police Station | |
| Local police personnel | Superintendent (警視,Keishi) |  |  | Lieutenant colonel | The Chief of Police Station (small or middle), The Vice Commanding Officer of Police Station, Commander ofRiot Police Unit |
| Chief Inspector (警部,Keibu) |  |  | Major orCaptain | Squad Commander of Police Station, Leader of Riot Company | |
| Inspector (警部補,Keibu-ho) |  |  | Captain orLieutenant | Squad Sub-Commander of Police Station, Leader of Riot Platoon | |
| PoliceSergeant (巡査部長,Junsa-buchō) |  |  | Warrant officer orSergeant | Field supervisor, Leader of Police box | |
| Senior Police Officer (巡査長,Junsa-chō) |  |  | Corporal | (Honorary rank of Police Officers) | |
| Police officer (巡査,Junsa) |  |  | Private | Prefectural Police Officers' careers start from this rank. | |
The NPA Commissioner General holds the highest position of the Japanese police.[18] His title is not a rank, but rather denotes his position as head of the NPA. On the other hand, the MPD Superintendent General represents not only the highest rank in the system but also assignment as head of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.[18]
Police officers whose rank are higher thanAssistant Commissioner (警視正,Keishi-sei) are salaried by the National budget even if they belong to local police departments. Designation and dismissal of these high-rank officers are delegated toNational Public Safety Commission.[19]
The superintendent general which is highest police rank is only in Tokyo outside of it senior commissioner is the highest rank and chief outside of Tokyo, Prefecture police headquarters are commanded by Chief or Director General (hunbocho).
There are several thousands of public security officials attached to various agencies. They are responsible for such matters as forest preservation, narcotics control, fishery inspection, and enforcement of regulations on maritime, labor, and mine safety. In the Act on Remuneration of Officials in the Regular Service (一般職の職員の給与に関する法律), a salary table for public security officials (公安職,Kōan-shoku) including judicial police officials is stipulated.
There are other officers having limited public safety functions.
| Officer | are Special judicial police officials (特別司法警察職員) | can arrest suspects with arrest warrant | can carry firearms | Salary schedule which is applied |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imperial guard (皇宮護衛官) |  Y | Y | Y | Public Security Service |
| Prison guard (刑務官) | Y | Y | Y | Public Security Service |
| Narcotics agent (麻薬取締官) | Y | Y | Y | Administrative Service |
| Labor Standards Inspector (労働基準監督官) | Y | Y |  N | Administrative Service |
| Authorized Fisheries Supervisor (漁業監督官) | Y | Y | N | Administrative Service |
| Coast Guard Officer (海上保安官) | Y | Y | Y | Public Security Service |
| Military police officer (警務官) | Y | Y | Y | Officials of Ministry of Defense |
| Diet guard (衛視) | N | N | N | (議院警察職) |
| Immigration control officer (入国警備官) | N | N | Y | Public Security Service |
| Immigration inspector (入国審査官) | N | N | Y | Administrative Service |
| Public security intelligence officer (公安調査官) | N | N | N | Public Security Service |
| Public prosecutor (検察官) | N | Y | N | Public Prosecutor |
| Public prosecutor's assistant officer (検察事務官) | N | Y | N | Public Security Service |
| Customs official (税関職員) | N | N | Y | Administrative Service |
| cf. Police officer | (judicial police official) | Y | Y | Public Security Service |
TheFirearm and Sword Possession Control Law of 1958 strictly regulates the civilian ownership ofguns,swords and otherweaponry. The law states that "No person shall possess a firearm or firearms or a sword or swords" and there are few exceptions.[20][21]
Japan has strict regulations on medical and recreational drugs. Importing or using any type ofnarcotics is illegal and there is generally no leniency; for example, the possession ofcannabis has a jail sentence of up to five years for the first offense. There are no exceptions for celebrities either, both in law enforcement and in Japanese society; if a celebrity is arrested, it could potentially end their career.
Authorities can detain a suspect for up to three weeks without charges.Solitary confinement is common and imprisoned suspects only get access to alawyer.[22] It is illegal to mail prescription drugs, and only designated parties in Japan are allowed to import them.[23]
If someone intends to bring more than one month of prescription medication, cosmetics, or medical devices into Japan, they are required to obtain import certification calledyakkan shoumei (薬監証明).[24]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. Country Studies.Federal Research Division.Regional Bureaus
Police communications Bureaus
Kobans
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