Law enforcement in Japan


Law enforcement in Japan is provided mainly by the prefectural police departments under the oversight of the National Police Agency, but there are various other law enforcement officials in Japan. 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 and monitored by a free and active press.
There are two types of law enforcement officials in Japan, depending on the underlying provision: Police officers of Prefectural Police Departments, and Special judicial police officials, dealing with specialized fields with high expertise.

History

The Japanese government established a European-style civil police system in 1874, under the centralized control of the Police Bureau within the Home Ministry, to put down internal disturbances and maintain order during the Meiji Restoration. By the 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. 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 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 were created to regulate the content of motion pictures, political meetings, and election campaigns. The Imperial Japanese Army's military police and the Imperial Japanese Navy's Tokkeitai, operating under their respective services and the justice and home ministries aided the civilian police in limiting proscribed political activity. After the Manchurian 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.
After Japan's surrender in 1945, occupation authorities in World War II 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 with the Korean War, the 75,000 strong National Police Reserve 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 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.

Safety

According to statistics of the United 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.
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.
Japan has a very low rate of intentional homicide victims. According to the UNODC 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, 0.04 suicide, 0.01 unintentional and 0.01 undetermined 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 is relatively high with 21.7 per 100,000 in 2013.

Regular police organizations

Prefectural Police Departments are established for each Prefectures and have full responsibility for regular police duties for their area of responsibility. These Prefectural Police Departments are primarily municipal police with their own police authority, but their activities are coordinated by National Police Agency 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, 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, police authority, and Police Headquarters, operational units.
The Prefectural Police Department of Tokyo is specifically referred to as the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. The Hokkaido Prefectural Police Department is known as. For Ōsaka and Kyōto, they're known as and are distinguished from other Prefectural Police Departments. 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 nine ranks:
StatusPolice ranksComparable military ranksRepresentative job titles
:ja:地方警務官|Government
officials		Superintendent GeneralGeneralThe Chief of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department
:ja:地方警務官|Government
officials		Senior CommissionerLieutenant generalDeputy Commissioner General, Deputy Superintendent General, The Chief of Regional Police Bureau, The Chief of Prefectural Police Headquarters
:ja:地方警務官|Government
officials		CommissionerMajor generalThe Chief of Prefectural Police Headquarters
:ja:地方警務官|Government
officials		Assistant CommissionerColonelThe Chief of Police Station
Local police personnelSuperintendent Lieutenant colonelThe Chief of Police Station, The Vice Commanding Officer of Police Station, Commander of Riot Police Unit
Local police personnelChief InspectorMajor or CaptainSquad Commander of Police Station, Leader of Riot Company
Local police personnelInspectorCaptain or LieutenantSquad Sub-Commander of Police Station, Leader of Riot Platoon
Local police personnelPolice SergeantWarrant officer or SergeantField supervisor, Leader of Police box
Local police personnelSenior Police OfficerCorporal
Local police personnelPolice officerPrivatePrefectural Police Officers' careers start from this rank.

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 Assistant Commissioner 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.

Public security officials except for Police 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 Act on Remuneration of Officials in the Regular Service, a salary table for Public security officials including Judicial police officials is stipulated.

Special judicial police officials

National Police Agency

The largest and most important of these ministry-supervised public safety agencies is the Japan Coast Guard, an external agency of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism that deals with crime in coastal waters and maintains facilities for safeguarding navigation. The agency operates a fleet of patrol and rescue craft in addition to a few aircraft used primarily for anti-smuggling patrols and rescue activities. In 1990 there were 2,846 incidents in and on the waters. In those incidents, 1,479 people drowned or were lost and 1,347 people were rescued.
There are other officers having limited public safety functions.

The National Diet

They handle national security matters both inside and outside the country. Their activities are not generally known to the public.

Laws and regulations for restricted materials

Firearm and weapon policy

The Firearm and Sword Possession Control Law strictly regulates the civilian ownership of guns, swords and other weaponry, in accordance with a 1958 Japanese law which states: "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 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".

Historical secret police organizations

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