
The is the central coordinating
law enforcement agency
A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for law enforcement within a specific jurisdiction through the employment and deployment of law enforcement officers and their resources. The most common type of law enforcement ...
of the
Japanese police system. Unlike
national police in other countries, the NPA does not have any operational units of its own aside from the
Imperial Guard
An imperial guard or palace guard is a special group of troops (or a member thereof) of an empire, typically closely associated directly with the emperor and/or empress. Usually these troops embody a more elite status than other imperial force ...
; rather, it is responsible for supervising Japan's 47
prefectural police
In the Law enforcement in Japan, law enforcement system in Japan, are prefecture-level Law enforcement agency, law enforcement agencies responsible for Police, policing, law enforcement, and public security within their respective Prefectures of ...
departments and determining their general standards and policies, though it can command police agencies under it in national emergencies or large-scale disasters. It is under the
National Public Safety Commission of the
Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for supporting the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister and Cabinet ...
.
As of 2017, the NPA has a strength of approximately 7,800 personnel: 2,100
sworn officers, 900 guards, and 4,800 civilian staff.
History
Police services of the Empire of Japan were placed under complete centralized control with the of the
Home Ministry
An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a Ministry (government department), government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law e ...
at their core. But after the
surrender of Japan
The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was Hirohito surrender broadcast, announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed on 2 September 1945, End of World War II in Asia, ending ...
, the
Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers
The Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (), or SCAP, was the title held by General Douglas MacArthur during the United States-led Allied occupation of Japan following World War II. It issued SCAP Directives (alias SCAPIN, SCAP Index Number) ...
regarded this centralized police system as undemocratic.
During the
occupation, the principle of
decentralization
Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those related to planning and decision-making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group and gi ...
was introduced by the 1947
Police Law. Cities and large towns had their own , and the was responsible for smaller towns, villages and rural areas. But most Japanese municipalities were too small to have a large police force, so sometimes they were unable to deal with large-scale violence. In addition, excessive fragmentation of the police organization reduced the efficiency of police activities.
As a response to these problems, complete restructuring created a more centralized system under the 1954 amended Police Law. All operational units except for the
Imperial Guard
An imperial guard or palace guard is a special group of troops (or a member thereof) of an empire, typically closely associated directly with the emperor and/or empress. Usually these troops embody a more elite status than other imperial force ...
were reorganized into
prefectural police
In the Law enforcement in Japan, law enforcement system in Japan, are prefecture-level Law enforcement agency, law enforcement agencies responsible for Police, policing, law enforcement, and public security within their respective Prefectures of ...
for each
prefecture
A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''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 inter ...
, and the National Police Agency was established as the central coordinating agency for these Police Departments.
On April 1, 2022, the NPA created the Cyber Affairs Bureau and the National Cyber Unit. In December 2023, the NPA announced that the TAIT (Telecom Scam Allianced Investigation Team) will be established in April 2024 to unify investigation efforts across Japan on fraud cases.
Since 2022, the number of people coming forward with
racial profiling
Racial profiling or ethnic profiling is the offender profiling, selective enforcement or selective prosecution based on race or ethnicity, rather than individual suspicion or evidence. This practice involves discrimination against minority pop ...
complaints against Japan's National Police Agency has grown.
Foreigners are acknowledged to have been frequent racial profiling targets, with numerous racial profiling incidents not documented by police.
Organization
Leadership
The is the highest ranking police officer of Japan, regarded as an exception to the regular class structure. For the , the Senior Commissioner is supplemented. The are their staff. The
civilian
A civilian is a person who is not a member of an armed force. It is war crime, illegal under the law of armed conflict to target civilians with military attacks, along with numerous other considerations for civilians during times of war. If a civi ...
political
leadership
Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations.
"Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...
is provided by the
National Public Safety Commission.
Internal Bureaus
Community Safety Bureau
The is responsible for crime prevention, combating juvenile delinquency, and pollution control.
This bureau was derived from the Safety Division of the
Criminal Affairs Bureau in 1994.
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Criminal Affairs Bureau
The is in charge of research statistics and coordination of the
criminal investigation
Criminal investigation is an applied science that involves the study of facts that are then used to inform criminal trials. A complete criminal investigation can include Search and seizure, searching, interviews, interrogations, Evidence (law), ...
of nationally important and international cases.
* (Direct reporting divisions)
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Traffic Bureau
The is responsible for
traffic policing and regulations. This bureau was derived from the (later merged with the Criminal Affairs Bureau; predecessor of the
Community Safety Bureau) in 1962 because of the expression indicating a high number of deaths from traffic accidents.
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Security Bureau
The is in charge of the
internal security
Internal security is the act of keeping peace within the borders of a sovereign state or other Self-governance, self-governing territories, generally by upholding the national law and defending against internal security threats. This task and rol ...
affairs, such as
counter-intelligence
Counterintelligence (counter-intelligence) or counterespionage (counter-espionage) is any activity aimed at protecting an agency's intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering information and conducting ac ...
,
counter-terrorism
Counterterrorism (alternatively spelled: counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, relates to the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, businesses, and intelligence agencies use to co ...
or
disaster response
Disaster response refers to the actions taken directly before, during, or immediately after a disaster. The objective is to save lives, ensure health and safety, and meet the subsistence needs of the people affected.UNGA (2016)Report of the open- ...
.
* (Direct reporting divisions)
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After the 1996
Japanese embassy hostage crisis in
Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
, the Security Bureau established the Terrorism Response Team where officers liaise with foreign law enforcement and intelligence agencies when Japanese interests or nationals are in danger.
It was later reformed to the Terrorism Response Team - Tactical Wing (TRT-2) for Overseas in order to meet with demands to coordinate with foreign police forces in assisting them whenever a terror attack has happened.
Cyber Affairs bureau
The is in charge of policing in
cyberspace
Cyberspace is an interconnected digital environment. It is a type of virtual world popularized with the rise of the Internet. The term entered popular culture from science fiction and the arts but is now used by technology strategists, security ...
, combat with
cybercrime
Cybercrime encompasses a wide range of criminal activities that are carried out using digital devices and/or Computer network, networks. It has been variously defined as "a crime committed on a computer network, especially the Internet"; Cyberc ...
and
cyberterrorism
Cyberterrorism is the use of the Internet to conduct violent acts that result in, or threaten, the loss of life or significant bodily harm, in order to achieve political or ideological gains through threat or intimidation. Emerging alongside th ...
.
This bureau was restructured from the Info-Communications Bureau in 2022 by integrating cyber-related divisions in several bureaus.
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Local Branch Bureaus and Departments
Regional Police Bureaus
There are six , each responsible for a number of prefectures as below:
;
: Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Akita, Yamagata, and Fukushima Prefectures
;
: Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa, Niigata, Yamanashi, Nagano, and Shizuoka Prefectures
;
: Toyama, Ishikawa, Fukui, Gifu, Aichi, and Mie Prefectures
;
: Shiga, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Nara, and Wakayama Prefectures
;
: Tottori, Shimane, Okayama, Hiroshima, and Yamaguchi Prefectures
: Tokushima, Kagawa, Ehime, and Kochi Prefectures
;
: Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Oita, Miyazaki, Kagoshima, and Okinawa Prefectures
They are located in major cities of each geographic region. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and Hokkaido Prefectural Police Headquarters are excluded from the jurisdiction of regional police bureaus. Headed by a Senior Commissioner, each regional police bureaus 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.
Police Communications Departments
Metropolitan
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
and the island of
Hokkaidō
is the second-largest island of Japan 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 railway via the Seikan Tunnel.
The ...
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. In other area, Police Communications Departments are established within each Regional Police Bureaus.
* Independent Communications Departments
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Subsidiary Organs
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See also
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Police services of the Empire of Japan
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Law enforcement in Japan
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Public order and internal security in Japan
*
Fire and Disaster Management Agency
The (FDMA) is an external agency attached to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in Japan.
Background
The Fire and Disaster Management Agency was established through article 3 paragraph 2 of the 1948 National Government Organizat ...
References
External links
Official website
*
{{Authority control
Cabinet Office (Japan)
1954 establishments in Japan
Government agencies established in 1954
Law enforcement agencies of Japan
National Central Bureaus of Interpol
Anti–child pornography organizations
National law enforcement agencies of Japan