Law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

is provided mainly by the prefectural police departments under the oversight of the

National Police Agency National Police may refer to the national police forces of several countries: *Afghanistan: Afghan National Police *Haiti: Haitian National Police *Colombia: National Police of Colombia *Cuba: Cuban National Police *East Timor: National Police o ...

. The National Police Agency is administered 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 Judicial independence is the concept that the judiciary should be independent from the other branches of government. That is, courts should not be subject to improper influence from the other branches of government or from private or partisan inte ...

and monitored by a free and active

press Press may refer to: Media * Print media or news media, commonly called "the press" * Printing press, commonly called "the press" * Press (newspaper), a list of newspapers * Press TV, an Iranian television network People * Press (surname), a fam ...

. There are two types of law enforcement officials in Japan, depending on the underlying provision: Police officers of Prefectural Police Departments (prescribed as under Article 189 of the ), and , dealing with specialized fields with high expertise.

History

The

Japanese government The Government of Japan consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and is based on popular sovereignty. The Government runs under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947. It is a unitary sta ...

established a European-style civil police system in 1874, under the centralized control of the Police Bureau within the

Home Ministry An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministr ...

, to put down internal disturbances and maintain order during the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were r ...

. By the 1880s, the police had developed into a nationwide instrument of government control, providing support for local leaders and enforcing

public morality Public morality refers to moral and ethical standards enforced in a society, by law or police work or social pressure, and applied to public life, to the content of the media, and to conduct in public places. A famous remark of Mrs Patrick Ca ...

. 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 twentieth century. The centralized police system steadily acquired responsibilities, until it controlled almost all aspects of daily life, including

fire prevention Fire prevention is a function of many fire departments. The goal of fire prevention is to educate the public on the precautions which should be taken to prevent potentially harmful fires and how to survive these fires in the event that they do ...

and mediation of labor disputes. The system regulated

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

, business, factories, and construction, and it issued permits and licenses. The Peace 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. The

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear re ...

(

Kempeitai The , also known as Kempeitai, was the military police arm of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1881 to 1945 that also served as a secret police force. In addition, in Japanese-occupied territories, the Kenpeitai arrested or killed those suspecte ...

) and the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrend ...

's Tokkeitai, operating under their respective services and the

justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

and home ministries aided the civilian police in limiting proscribed political activity. After the

Manchurian Incident The Mukden Incident, or Manchurian Incident, known in Chinese as the 9.18 Incident (九・一八), was a false flag event staged by Japanese military personnel as a pretext for the 1931 Japanese invasion of Manchuria. On September 18, 1931, L ...

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. After

Japan's surrender The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Nav ...

in 1945, occupation authorities in World War II retained the prewar police structure until a new system was implemented and the

Diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

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 A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

. The Home Ministry was abolished and replaced by the less powerful

Ministry of Home Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministr ...

, 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 Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and Sout ...

in 1950–51 with the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

, the 75,000 strong National Police Reserve (predecessor of the

Japan Ground Self-Defense Force The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force ( ja, 陸上自衛隊, Rikujō Jieitai), , also referred to as the Japanese Army, is the land warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Created on July 1, 1954, it is the largest of the three service b ...

) was formed outside the Regular 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 a

. 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.

Safety

According to statistics of the

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC; French: ''Office des Nations unies contre la drogue et le crime'') is a United Nations office that was established in 1997 as the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention by combining the ...

, 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. The incarceration 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.Highest to Lowest

World Prison Brief The World Prison Brief at PrisonStudies.org is an online database providing free access to information on prison systems around the world. It is now hosted by the Institute For Crime & Justice Policy Research (ICPR), Birkbeck College, University ...

(WPB). Use dropdown menu to choose lists of countries by region, or the whole world. Use menu to select highest-to-lowest lists of prison population totals, prison population rates, percentage of pre-trial detainees / remand prisoners, percentage of female prisoners, percentage of foreign prisoners, and occupancy rate. Column headings in WPB tables can be clicked to reorder columns lowest to highest, or alphabetically. For detailed information for each country click on any country name in lists. See also th
WPB main data page
and click on the map links and/or the sidebar links to get to the region and country desired. Data for the whole Wikipedia list was last retrieved on 18 October 2018. Some numbers may be adjusted here later according to later info. Please update the table here only from this WPB source. For a quick method to fully update the table see the relevant section ("conversion examples") of Commons:Convert tables and charts to wiki code or image files. Japan has a very low rate of intentional homicide victims. According to the

UNODC The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC; French: ''Office des Nations unies contre la drogue et le crime'') is a United Nations office that was established in 1997 as the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention by combining the ...

it ranks 219 out of 230 countries. It has a rate of just 0.20 per 100,000 inhabitants. There were 306 in 2017.". The number of firearm 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. The intentional death rate is low for homicides with 0.4 per 100,000 people in 2013. However, the

suicide rate The following are lists of countries by suicide rate as published by the World Health Organization (WHO) and other sources. About one person in 5,000–15,000 dies by suicide every year, with an estimated global rate of 10.5 per 100,000 popula ...

is relatively high with 21.7 per 100,000 in 2013.

Regular police organizations

Prefectural Police Departments are established for each

Prefectures A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain internationa ...

and have full responsibility for regular police duties for their

area of responsibility Area of responsibility (AOR) is a pre-defined geographic region assigned to Combatant commanders of the Unified Command Plan (UCP), that are used to define an area with specific geographic boundaries where they have the authority to plan and co ...

. These Prefectural Police Departments are primarily municipal police with their own

police authority A police authority in the United Kingdom is a public authority that is responsible for overseeing the operations of a police force. The nature and composition of police authorities has varied over time, and there are now just four dedicated "police ...

, but their activities are coordinated by

and National Public Safety Commission. As of 2017, the total strength of the police reached approximately 296,700 personnel, including 262,500 police officers, 900 Imperial guards and 33,200 civilian staff. Nationwide, there are approximately 23,400 female police officers and 13,000 female civilian staff.

National Police Agency

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. 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 the Prime Minister. The Central Office includes the

Secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who is the ninth winne ...

, with divisions for general operations, planning, information, finance, management, and procurement and distribution of police equipment, and five bureaus. The citizen oversight is provided by the National Public Safety Commission. As of 2017, the NPA has a strength of 7,800 personnel: 2,100 police officers, 900 Imperial guards and 4,800 civilian staff.

Prefectural police departments

All operational police units are organized into Prefectural Police Headquarters for each Prefectures. Each Prefectural Police Departments are composed of Prefectural Public Safety Commission,

, and Police Headquarters, operational units. The Prefectural Police Department of Tokyo is specifically referred to as the . The

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The l ...

Prefectural Police Department is known as . For

Ōsaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2 ...

and

Kyōto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the cit ...

, they're known as and are distinguished from other . The total strength of the prefectural police is approximately 288,000 personnel: 260,400 police officers and 28,400 civilian staff.

Ranks

Police officers are divided into eleven ranks: The NPA Commissioner General holds the highest position of the Japanese police. 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. Police officers whose rank are higher than are salaried by the National budget even if they belong to local police departments. Designation and dismissal of these high-rank officers are delegated to National Public Safety Commission. 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).

Other public security officers

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 , a salary table for including judicial police officials is stipulated.

Special judicial police officials

National Police Agency

Ministry of Justice

Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

* *

Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

* *

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism

* *()

Ministry of Defense

Officials working for public safety, except for Special judicial police officials

There are other officers having limited public safety functions.

The National Diet

Ministry of Justice

* * * * *

Ministry of Finance

* *

Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

* *

Tables

Laws and regulations for restricted materials

Firearm and weapon policy

The

Firearm and Sword Possession Control Law The is a 1958 Japanese law concerning firearms (and firearm parts/ammunition) and bladed weapons. It was enacted in 1958 and revised a number of times,Japanese Gun Control 1993 ''Asia Pacific Law Review'' Retrieved March 21, 2016Fisher, MaA Land ...

of 1958 strictly regulates the civilian ownership of

guns A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube (gun barrel) to launch projectiles. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns/cannons, spray guns for painting or pressure washing, p ...

sword A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...

s and other

weaponry A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, s ...

. The law states that "No person shall possess a firearm or firearms or a sword or swords" and there are few exceptions.

Medical and recreational drugs policy

Japan has strict regulations on medical and recreational drugs. Importing or using any type of narcotics is illegal and there is generally no leniency. For example the possession of

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternativel ...

has a jail sentence of up to five years for the first offense. There are no exceptions for celebrities; if a celebrity is caught then their products are removed from stores and it could bring an end to their career. Authorities can detain a suspect for up to three weeks without charges. Solitary confinement is common and you only get access to a lawyer. It is illegal to have prescription drugs mailed to you, and only designated parties in Japan are allowed to import them. If someone intends to bring more than one month of prescription medication, cosmetics or medical devices into Japan, he or she is required to obtain import certification called "Yakkan Shoumei" (薬監証明).

Historical secret police organizations

* Tokko (Investigated and controlled political groups and ideologies deemed to be a threat to public order) *

(

Military Police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear re ...

of the

) * Tokkeitai (

of the

)

References

Books

* Yoshino, Jun. (2005). "Law Enforcement in the Edo Period". In: Japan Echo, vol. 31 n. 3, June 2005. p. 59-62. *

History

Safety

Regular police organizations

National Police Agency

Prefectural police departments

Ranks

Other public security officers

Special judicial police officials

National Police Agency

Ministry of Justice

Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism

Ministry of Defense

Officials working for public safety, except for Special judicial police officials

The National Diet

Ministry of Justice

Ministry of Finance

Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

Tables

Laws and regulations for restricted materials

Firearm and weapon policy

Medical and recreational drugs policy

Historical secret police organizations

See also

References

Books

External links