JAPAN POLICING

SYSTEM

REYNALDO M. ESMERALDA
 HISTORY
 1874 - The Japanese government established a European-style civil
police system under the centralized control of the Police Bureau
within the Home Ministry, to put down internal disturbances and
maintain order during the Meiji Restoration.
 1880s - The police had developed into a nationwide instrument of
government control, providing support for local leaders and
enforcing public morality. They acted as general civil administrators,
implementing official policies and thereby facilitating unification and
modernization.
 Note: The centralized police system steadily acquired responsibilities, until
it controlled almost all aspects of daily life, including fire prevention and
mediation of labor disputes. The system regulated public health, business,
factories, and construction, and it issued permits and licenses.
 The Peace Preservation Law of 1925 – Gave police the authority to
arrest people for "wrong thoughts".
 Special Higher Police (Tokko) - Created to regulate the content of
motion pictures, political meetings, and election campaigns.
 Kempeitai (Imperial Japanese Army's military police) and
Tokeitai (Imperial Japanese Navy's) - Operating under their
respective services and the justice and home ministries aided
the civilian police in limiting proscribed political activity.
 1931 - After the Manchurian Incident, 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.
 1945 - (Japan's surrender) authorities retained the prewar
police structure until a new system was implemented and the
Diet passed the 1947 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 a National 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 the National
Public Safety Commission in the Office of the Prime Minister. The
Home Ministry was abolished and replaced by the less powerful
Ministry 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 to Korea in
1950–51, the 75,000 strong National Police Reserve was formed to
back up the ordinary police during civil disturbances, and pressure
mounted for a centralized system more compatible with Japanese
political preferences.
 1951 - The 1947 Police Law was amended in to allow the municipal
police of smaller communities to merge with the National Rural
Police.
 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 a National 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.
 LAW ENFORCEMENT IN JAPAN

 Is provided by the Prefectural Police under the oversight of

the National Police Agency or NPA.
 The NPA is headed by the National Public Safety
Commission thus ensuring that Japan's police are an
apolitical body and free of direct central government
executive control.
 They are checked by an independent judiciary and
monitored by a free and active press.
 NATIONAL POLICE AGENCY
 The National Police Agency - Is an agency administered
by the National Public Safety Commission of the Cabinet
Office in the cabinet of Japan, and is the central
coordinating agency of the Japanese police system.
 NPA does not have any police officers of its own. Instead,
its role is to determine general standards and policies,
although in national emergencies or large-scale disasters the
agency is authorized to take command of prefectural police
forces.
 The agency is headed by a commissioner general who is
appointed by the National Public Safety Commission with
the approval of the prime minister.
 Policy for the NPA in turn is set by the National Public
Safety Commission.
 As the central coordinating body for the entire police
system, it determines general standards and policies;
detailed direction of operations is left to the lower
echelons.
 In a national emergency or large-scale disaster, the agency
is authorized to take command of prefectural police forces.
 1989 - The agency was composed of about 1,100 national
civil servants, empowered to collect information and to
formulate and execute national policies.
 The Central Office includes the Secretariat, with divisions
for general operations, planning, information finance,
management, and procurement and distribution of police
equipment, and five bureaus.
 BODIES SUPERVISED BY THE NPA

 47 Prefectural Police Departments with the Tokyo

Metropolitan Police Department.
 FIVE (5) BUREAUS
 Police Administration Bureau
 Concerned with police personnel, education, welfare,
training, and unit inspections.
 Criminal Investigation Bureau
 In charge of research statistics and the investigation of
nationally important and international cases.
 Responsible for crime prevention, combating juvenile
delinquency, and pollution control.
 In addition, the Criminal Investigation Bureau surveys,
formulates, and recommends legislation on firearms,
explosives, food, drugs, and narcotics.
 Traffic Bureau
 It has the function to licenses drivers, enforces traffic safety
laws, and regulates traffic.
 Formulate and Conduct Intensive traffic safety and driver
education campaigns both national and prefectural levels.
 The bureau's Expressway Division addresses special conditions
of the nation's growing system of express highways.
 Security Bureau
 It formulates and supervises the execution of security policies.
 It conducts research on equipment and tactics for suppressing
riots and oversaw and coordinates activities of the riot police.
 Responsible for security intelligence on foreigners and radical
political groups, including investigation of violations of the
Alien Registration Law and administration of the Entry and
Exit Control Law.
 The bureau also implements security policies during national
emergencies and natural disasters.
 Regional Public Safety Bureaus
 The National Police Agency has seven regional police bureaus,
each responsible for a number of prefectures. Each is headed by
a Director and they are organized similar to the Central Office.
 Located in major cities of each geographic region.
 The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and Hokkaido
Prefectural Police Headquarters are excluded from the
jurisdiction of RPBs.
 Headed by a Director General, each RPB exercises necessary
control and supervision over and provides support services to
prefectural police within its jurisdiction, under the authority and
orders of NPA's Commissioner General.
 Attached to each Regional Police Bureaus is a Regional Police
School which provides police personnel with education and
training required of staff officers as well as other necessary
education and training.
SEVEN (7) REGIONAL POLICE BUREAUS
 Tohoku - Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Akita, Yamagata, and
Fukushima Prefectures
 Kinki - Shiga, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Nara, and Wakayama
Prefectures
 Shikoku - Tokushima, Kagawa, Ehime, Kochi Prefectures

 Kanto - Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa,

Niigata, Yamanashi, Nagano, and Shizuoka Prefectures
 Chubu - Toyama, Ishikawa, Fukui, Gifu, Aichi, Mie,
Prefectures
 Kyushu - Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Oita,
Miyazaki, Kagoshima, and Okinawa Prefectures
 Chugoku - Tottori, Shimane, Okayama, Hiroshima, and
Yamaguchi Prefectures.
POLICE COMMUNICATIONS DIVISIONS

 Metropolitan Tokyo and the island of Hokkaidō are

excluded from the regional jurisdictions and are run
more autonomously than other local forces, in the case of
Tokyo, because of its special urban situation, and of
Hokkaidō, because of its distinctive geography.
 The National Police Agency maintains police
communications divisions in these two areas to handle
any coordination needed between national and local
forces.
 NATIONAL POLICE AGENCY
IMPERIAL GUARD

 In 1947 the Imperial Police Headquarters was created under the

control of the Home Ministry from the Imperial Household
Ministry.
 It came under the aegis of the National Police Agency of Japan in
1957.
STRENGTH
 As of 2008 - The total strength reached approximately 289,800
personnel.
 The NPA total - is about 7,600 with 1,800 police officers, 900
Imperial guards and 4,900 civilians.
 The Prefectural police total - is about 282,200 with 253,400
police officers and 28,800 civilians.
 13,500 - Female police officers
 11,800 - Female civilians.
 At present, it consists of over 900 security police personnel who
provide personal security for the Emperor, Crown Prince and other
members of the Imperial Family of Japan, as well as protection of
imperial properties includes:
 Tokyo Imperial Palace
 Kyoto Imperial Palace
 Katsura Imperial Villa
 Shugakuin Imperial Villa (both in Kyoto),
 Shosoin Imperial Repository in Nara
 The imperial villas as Hayama, Kanagawa and Nasu, Tochigi.
 The Imperial Guard also maintains a 14 horse mounted police unit for
use by guards of honor at state ceremonies.
 Dark Blue or a Blue-Grey Police- The modern Imperial Guards
uniform when on duty. They also wear white pistol belts, lanyards,
helmets, boot laces or leggings. The gloves are white.
 Imperial Guard - Responsible for fire-fighting within the grounds of
the Palace, and maintains fire engines and trained staff of this purpose.
 "KOBAN".
 A small neighborhood police station found in Japan.
 Refers to the smallest organizational unit in today's Japanese
police system. In addition to central police stations, Japanese
uniformed police work is done from small buildings located
within the community, a form of community policing.
 As of 2007, there are about 6,000 kōban all over Japan. Since the
1990s, many of them are found with signs in all-capital letter
alphabets,
 Typically a two-storied housing with a couple of rooms
(although there is wide variation), with from one to more than
ten police officers.
 The officers in these buildings can keep watch, respond to
emergencies, give directions, and otherwise interact with
citizens on a more intimate basis than they could from a more
distant station. Although often translated to English as "police
box".
 SERVICES PROVIDED
Police officers stationed at kōban serve several roles:
 Maps and directions -- Providing maps & directions to local
addresses, in some cases even personally guiding those unfamiliar
with local street layouts and addressing schemes. Additionally,
officers can refer people to local hotels, restaurants, and other
businesses.
 Lost and found -- Accepting reports of lost items and accepting
found items from members of the public. If a matching lost item is
turned in, notifying the owner of the item to come pick up the item.
 Crime reports -- Taking police reports, typically for property
crimes such as theft and burglary.
 Emergency services -- As well as dialing the emergency telephone
number "110" in case of police, fire, or medical emergency, direct
contact can be made with the koban and assistance will be
dispatched.
NATIONAL PUBLIC SAFETY
COMMISSION
 Its mission is to guarantee the neutrality of the police by insulating
the force from political pressure and to ensure the maintenance of
democratic methods in police administration.

PRIMARY FUNCTION
 To supervise the National Police Agency.
 It has the authority to appoint or dismiss senior police officers.

COMPOSITION
 Chairman - who holds the rank of minister of state
 Five Members - appointed by the prime minister with the consent of
both houses of the Diet.
  The commission operates independently of the cabinet but liaison
and coordination with it are facilitated by the chairman's being a
member of that body.
 ORGANIZATION

 Commissioner - General of the National Police Agency

 the highest ranking police officer
 Deputy Commissioner-General
 Commissioner-General's Secretariat

 Community Safety Bureau

 Criminal Investigation Bureau

 Organized Crime Department

 Safety Department
 Traffic Bureau

 Security Bureau
 Foreign Affairs and Intelligence Department
 Info-Communications Bureau
 National Police Academy

 National Research Institute of Police Science

 Imperial Guard Headquarters

 Regional Bureaus

 Tohoku Regional Police Bureau

 Kanto Regional Police Bureau
 Chubu Regional Police Bureau
 Kinki Regional Police Bureau
 Chugoku Regional Police Bureau
 Shikoku Regional Police Bureau
 Kyushu Regional Police Bureau
 Communications Departments

 Tokyo Metropolitan Police Info-Communications Department

 Hokkaido Police Info-Communications Department
 RANK COMPARISON
Japan Philippines
Superintendent General Director General
Superintendent Supervisor Deputy Director General
Chief Superintendent Director
Sr. Superintendent Chief Superintendent
Superintendent Sr. Superintendent
Police Inspector Superintendent
Assistant Police Inspector Chief Inspector
Police Sergeant Sr. Inspector
Policeman Inspector
SPOIV
SPOIII
SPOII
SPOI
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE