The , known locally as simply the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), is the

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 ...

Tokyo Metropolis 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 ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Founded in 1874, the TMPD is the largest

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

force in Japan by number of officers, with a staff of more than 40,000 police officers and over 2,800 civilian personnel. The TMPD is headed by a Superintendent-General, who is appointed by the National Public Safety Commission and approved by the

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

. It manages 10 divisions and 102

stations Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle stat ...

across the Metropolis. The TMPD's headquarters are located in

Kasumigaseki Kasumigaseki (霞が関, 霞ヶ関 or 霞ケ関) is a district in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda, Tokyo. Most government ministries are located in the neighbourhood, making its name a metonym for the Civil service of Japan, Japanese bureaucracy, while Nag ...

, Chiyoda,

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 ...

. Built in 1980, it is 18 stories tall, and is a large wedge-shaped building with a cylindrical tower. The HQ building is located opposite of

Sakurada Gate is a gate in the inner moat of Tokyo Imperial Palace, in Tokyo, Japan. It was the location of the Sakuradamon Incident (1860), Sakuradamon Incident in 1860, in which Tairō Ii Naosuke was assassinated outside the gate by samurai of the Mito Doma ...

Tokyo Imperial Palace is the main residence of the Emperor of Japan. It is a large park-like area located in the Chiyoda, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda district of the Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda ward of Tokyo and contains several buildings including the where the Emperor h ...

, so it is also

metonym Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something associated with that thing or concept. For example, the word "wikt:suit, suit" may refer to a person from groups commonly wearing business attire, such ...

ically called "Sakurada Gate".

History

Tokyo-Metropolitan-Police-Board-Headquarters-1931

The TMPD was established by Japanese statesman

Kawaji Toshiyoshi , also known as Kawaji Toshikane, was a Japanese military general, politician, and samurai. during the Meiji period.Lanman, Charles. ''Leading Men of Japan: With an Historical Summary of the Empire''. The University of California. Published by ...

in 1874. Kawaji, who had helped establish the earlier ''rasotsu'' in 1871 following the disestablishment of the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

police system, was part of the

Iwakura Mission The Iwakura Mission or Iwakura Embassy (, ''Iwakura Shisetsudan'') was a Japanese diplomatic voyage to Europe and the United States conducted between 1871 and 1873 by leading statesmen and scholars of the Meiji period. It was not the only such m ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, where he gathered information on Western policing; he was mostly inspired by the police of France, especially the

National Gendarmerie The National Gendarmerie ( ) is one of two national law enforcement forces of France, along with the National Police (France), National Police. The Gendarmerie is a branch of the French Armed Forces placed under the jurisdiction of the Minister ...

on which the ''rasotsu'' were based. On 9 January 1874, the TMPD was established as part 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 ...

, with Kawaji serving as its first Superintendent-General. Censorship TMPD

By the 1880s, the police had developed into a nationwide instrument of government control, and their increasing involvement in political affairs was one of the foundations of the authoritarian state in the

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

during the first half of the 20th century. By the 1920s and 1930s, police across Japan, including the TMPD, were responsible not only for

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...

and

public security Public security or public safety is the prevention of and protection from events that could endanger the safety and security of the public from significant danger, injury, or property damage. It is often conducted by a state government to ensu ...

, but also

firefighting Firefighting is a profession aimed at controlling and extinguishing fire. A person who engages in firefighting is known as a firefighter or fireman. Firefighters typically undergo a high degree of technical training. This involves structural fir ...

labor dispute A labor dispute is a disagreement between an employer and employees regarding the terms of employment. This could include disputes regarding conditions of employment, fringe benefits, hours of work, tenure, and wages to be negotiated during ...

mediation,

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

, upholding

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. Public morality often means reg ...

, issuing permits, and government regulation of businesses, construction, and

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 de ...

. When Japan surrendered at the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the TMPD was placed under Allied control in

occupied Japan Japan was occupied and administered by the Allies of World War II from the surrender of the Empire of Japan on September 2, 1945, at the war's end until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect on April 28, 1952. The occupation, led by the ...

. 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) ...

viewed the existing Japanese police system as undemocratic and sought to reform it, so in 1947 the was passed, decentralizing Japanese police and reorganizing them into

municipal police Municipal police, city police, or local police are law enforcement agencies that are under the control of local government. This includes the municipal government, where it is the smallest administrative subdivision. They receive fundi ...

and

rural police A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to "men-at-arms" (). In France and som ...

; as a municipal police force, the TMPD was limited to the 23

wards of Tokyo The of Tokyo are a special form of Municipalities of Japan, municipalities in Japan under the 1947 Local Autonomy Act, Local Autonomy Law. They are city-level wards: primary subdivisions of a prefecture with municipal autonomy largely comparabl ...

, but the "Metropolitan" part of the name remained. Police firefighting duties were also split off to independent

fire departments A fire department (North American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire company, fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and ...

, with the TMPD's Fire Bureau developing into the

Tokyo Fire Department The Tokyo Fire Department (TFD) ( Japanese: 東京消防庁, ''Tōkyō Shōbōch''ō), Founded in 1948, is the fire department of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. The TFD is the largest urban fire department in the world with a total staff of 18,408. T ...

in 1948. However, issues concerning manpower and efficiency among smaller and spread out municipalities arose, so in 1954 the amended was passed, reunifying the police into prefectural divisions under the

National Police Agency National Police may refer to the national police forces of several countries: *Afghanistan: Afghan National Police *Haiti: Haitian National Police *Canada: Royal Canadian Mounted Police *Colombia: National Police of Colombia *Cuba: National Revolut ...

; as part of the amendment, the TMPD regained jurisdiction over the Tokyo metropolitan area. In 2017, the TMPD established the Cyber Attack Countermeasures Center, consisting of 100 officers from the Cyber Attack Special Investigation Unit, originally from the PSB. To prepare for the G20 summit in 2019, the TMPD announced the establishment of the Water Response Team in order to police bodies of water near G20 summit venues.

Scandals

In 1978, the TMPD was investigated when a uniformed officer killed a female university student inside her residence. In 1997, an officer was caught falsifying evidence in an

amphetamine Amphetamine (contracted from Alpha and beta carbon, alpha-methylphenethylamine, methylphenethylamine) is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy, an ...

investigation. In 2007, the TMPD was under scrutiny when a serving officer used his officially-issued firearm to commit a

murder–suicide A murder–suicide is an act where an individual intentionally kills one or more people before killing themselves. The combination of murder and suicide can take various forms: * Suicide after or during murder inflicted on others ** Suicide af ...

. In 2014, the chief of Kamata Police Station in Ōta was disciplined after a police officer assigned there committed suicide following severe

workplace harassment Workplace harassment is belittling or threatening behavior directed at an individual worker or a group of workers. Workplace harassment has gained interest among practitioners and researchers as it is becoming one of the most sensitive areas of ef ...

. In 2024, an investigation found that police departments across Japan, including in Tokyo, did in fact have a high rate of systematic

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 ...

against foreigners, despite previously low records of racial profiling incidents.

Organization

The TMPD is under the command of a Superintendent-General and reports directly to the Tokyo Metropolitan Public Safety Commission. The Superintendent-General can be appointed and replaced at any time as long as the prime minister and the TMPSC receives their approval. Since the TMPD is autonomous, it does not operate under the authority of any Regional Police Bureau. The TMPD has nine bureaus that report to the Deputy Superintendent General: * * * * * * * * * The TMPD also operates its own academy, the Metropolitan Police Academy.

Ranks and insignia

The ranks used in the TMPD have been slightly revised in 2013, changing only the English translation of some of the ranks used by the force. Otherwise, these ranks have been observed throughout its history. (Note that Deputy Superintendent-General is, strictly speaking, a post rather than a rank). *Superintendent-General (four gold rising suns) *Deputy Superintendent-General (post gold-wreathed gold emblem with three gold bars) *Senior Commissioner (gold-wreathed gold emblem with three gold bars), formerly Superintendent Supervisor *Commissioner (gold-wreathed gold emblem with two gold bars), formerly Chief Superintendent *Assistant Commissioner (gold-wreathed gold emblem with one gold bar), formerly Senior Superintendent *Superintendent (gold-wreathed silver emblem with three gold bars) *Chief Inspector (gold-wreathed silver emblem with two gold bars), formerly Inspector *Inspector (gold-wreathed silver emblem with one gold bar), formerly Assistant Inspector *Sergeant (silver-wreathed silver emblem with three gold bars) *Senior Police Officer (silver-wreathed silver emblem with two gold bars) *Police Officer (silver-wreathed silver emblem with one gold bar)

Gallery

File:Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Toyota Crown Patrol Car GRS214.jpg,

Toyota Crown The is an automobile which has been produced by Toyota in Japan since 1955. It is primarily a line of mid-size luxury cars that is marketed as an upmarket offering in the Toyota lineup. In North America, the first through fourth generation ...

assigned to traffic duty in

Tachikawa file:Autumn colors in Showa memorial park.jpg, 250px, Showa Memorial Park is a Cities of Japan, city located in the western Tokyo, western portion of the Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 184,383 in 93,428 househ ...

File:Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Nissan Fairlady Z NISMO Z34.jpg, Nissan Fairlady Z NISMO Z34 used for

highway patrol A highway patrol is a police unit, detail, or law enforcement agency created primarily for the purpose of overseeing and enforcing traffic safety compliance on roads and highways within a jurisdiction. They are also referred to in many countri ...

File:Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Shibuya-1 with raised lightbar.jpg, Toyota Crown with a raised lightbar in

Shibuya is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in Tokyo, Japan. A major commercial center, Shibuya houses one of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shibuya Station. As of January 1, 2024, Shibuya Ward has an estimated population of 230,60 ...

File:Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department motorcycle unit escorting 2015Tokyo Marathon.jpg,

Yamaha FJR1300 The Yamaha FJR1300A and FJR1300AE/AS are sport touring motorcycles made by Yamaha Motor Company. Both models have a 1,298 cc inline-four engine. The AE/AS model has an electronically controlled clutch and gear shifting system called YCC-S. Th ...

escorting the

2015 Tokyo Marathon The 2015 Tokyo Marathon () was the ninth edition of the annual marathon race in Tokyo, Japan and was held on Sunday, 22 February. An IAAF Gold Label Road Race, it was the first World Marathon Majors event to be held that year and represented the ...

File:Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Mitsubishi Fuso Canter Small type security vehicle.jpg,

Mitsubishi Fuso Canter The is a line of light-duty commercial vehicles manufactured by Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation, part of Daimler Truck, subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz Group. The Canter is manufactured since 1963, now in its eighth generation. The Cant ...

converted into an

internal security vehicle An internal security vehicle (ISV), also known as an armored security vehicle (ASV), is an armored car or armored personnel carrier used for supporting contingency operations. Design Internal security vehicles are typically armed with a turre ...

for use by the TMPD's

Riot Police Unit are the rapid reaction forces of Japanese prefectural police. These units are not only riot police, but a type of emergency service unit to maintain public order against large civil disorder, disaster response, or other emergency situations ...

File:Tokyo Metropolitan Police Eurocopter EC155B1 JA15MP departing Tokyo Heliport.jpg,

Eurocopter EC155 The Airbus Helicopters H155 (formerly Eurocopter EC155) is a long-range medium-lift passenger transport helicopter developed by Eurocopter from its Eurocopter Dauphin, Dauphin family for civil aviation use. It is a twin-engined aircraft and can ...

used by the TMPD at

Tokyo Heliport is a heliport in Kōtō, Tokyo, Kōtō, Tokyo, Japan, mainly used for flights in the Greater Tokyo Area. It is used by both government organizations and private companies. History The Tokyo Metropolitan Government opened a Tokyo Heliport in the ...

File:Metropolitan Police Boat Takao P6059114.jpg, TMPD Boat ''Takao'' in Ariake File:Two police officers near Shibuya.jpg, TMPD officers outside a

kōban A is a small neighborhood police station found in Japan. The term also refers to the smallest organizational unit in a modern Law enforcement in Japan, Japanese prefectural police force. Small kōban buildings, staffed by uniformed officers at ...

near

Shibuya Station is a major railway station in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East), Keio Corporation, Tokyu Corporation, and Tokyo Metro. It serves as a terminal for six railway lines, five of which are operated by Tokyo Metro ...

File:Police at Yasukuni Shrine - Tokyo - Japan (47855249322).jpg, TMPD patrol officers outside

Yasukuni Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded by Emperor Meiji in June 1869 and commemorates those who died in service of Empire of Japan, Japan, from the Boshin War of 1868–1869, to the two Sino-Japanese Wars, First Sino-Japane ...

File:ERT operators stood in lines.jpg, TMPD Riot Police Unit Emergency Response Team officers with their equipment File:The Moat of The Imperial Palace.JPG, TMPD HQ seen from

File:Ogasawara Police Station 2017-11-27.jpg, The police station in Ogasawara, about away from HQMetropolitan Police Department
police stations

Notes

References

External links

Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department

{{Authority control Government of Tokyo Prefectural police of Japan 1874 establishments in Japan Organizations established in 1874