Law enforcement in Japan
Law enforcement in Japan is provided mainly by prefectural police under the oversight of the National Police Agency.[1] The National Police Agency is administered by the National Public Safety Commission, 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 (prescribed as Judicial police officials (司法警察職員) under Article 189 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (刑事訴訟法, Keiji-soshōhō)), and Special judicial police officials (特別司法警察職員); prescribed in Article 190 of the same law, dealing with specialized fields with high expertise.[2]
History
The
The centralized police system steadily acquired responsibilities, until it controlled almost all aspects of daily life, including
After
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.[3][4][5][6][7]
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.[8]
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.[9][10]
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.[11]
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.[12]
Regular police organizations
Prefectural police are established for each prefecture and have full responsibility for regular police duties for their area of responsibility. These prefectural police are primarily municipal police with their own authority, but their activities are coordinated by the National Police Agency and the National Public Safety Commission.[13] As of 2017, the total strength of police reached approximately 296,700 personnel, including 262,500 police officers, 900 Imperial Guards, and 33,200 civilian staff.[14] Nationwide, there are approximately 23,400 female police officers and 13,000 female civilian staff.[14]
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.[15] 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.[15]
The Central Office includes the Secretariat, with divisions for general operations, planning, information, finance, management, and procurement and distribution of police equipment. The NPA operates five bureaus. Citizen oversight is provided by the National Public Safety Commission.
As of 2017, the NPA has a strength of 2,100 police officers, 900 Imperial Guards, and 4,800 civilian staff, for a total of 7,800 personnel.[14]
Prefectural police
All operational police units are organized into prefectural police for each prefecture. Prefectural police are organized and commanded by their respective Prefectural Police Headquarters, and each one has a Prefectural Public Safety Commission and numerous operational units.[13]
Most prefectural police are simply named the Prefectural Police (県警察, Ken-keisatsu) of their respective prefecture (e.g. Shizuoka Prefectural Police). However, certain prefectural police, especially those serving prefectures with larger populations, have different names: Tokyo's police is the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department (警視庁, Keishi-chō); Hokkaido's is known as Dō-keisatsu (道警察); and Ōsaka's and Kyōto's are known as Fu-keisatsu (府警察).
The total strength of the prefectural police is 260,400 police officers and 28,400 civilian staff as of 2018, for a total of approximately 288,000 personnel.[14]
Ranks
Police officers are divided into eleven ranks:[16]
Status | Police ranks[16] |
Rank insignia |
Comparable military ranks[17] | Representative job titles | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
shoulder knot | chest badge | ||||
Government officials |
Commissioner General (警察庁長官, Keisatsu-chō Chōkan)
|
No counterpart (outside normal ranking) | The Chief of the National Police Agency | ||
Superintendent General (警視総監, Keishi-sōkan) | General | The Chief of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department | |||
Senior Commissioner (警視監, Keishi-kan) | Lieutenant general | Deputy Commissioner General, Deputy Superintendent General, The Chief of Regional Police Bureau, The Chief of Prefectural Police Headquarters | |||
Commissioner (警視長, Keishi-chō) | Major general | The Chief of Prefectural Police Headquarters | |||
Assistant Commissioner (警視正, Keishi-sei)
|
Colonel | The Chief of Police Station | |||
Local police personnel | Superintendent (警視, Keishi) | Lieutenant colonel | The Chief of Police Station (small or middle), The Vice Commanding Officer of Police Station, Commander of Riot Police Unit | ||
Chief Inspector (警部, Keibu)
|
Major or Captain | Squad Commander of Police Station, Leader of Riot Company | |||
Inspector (警部補, Keibu-ho) | Captain or Lieutenant | Squad Sub-Commander of Police Station, Leader of Riot Platoon | |||
Police Sergeant (巡査部長, Junsa-buchō) | Warrant officer or Sergeant | Field supervisor, Leader of Police box | |||
Senior Police Officer (巡査長, Junsa-chō) | Corporal | (Honorary rank of Police Officers) | |||
Police officer (巡査, Junsa) | Private | Prefectural Police Officers' careers start from this rank. |
The NPA Commissioner General holds the highest position of the Japanese police.[18] 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.[18]
Police officers whose rank are higher than
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 Act on Remuneration of Officials in the Regular Service (一般職の職員の給与に関する法律), a salary table for public security officials (公安職, Kōan-shoku) including judicial police officials is stipulated.
Special judicial police officials
National Police Agency
Ministry of Justice
- Prison guard (刑務官)
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
- Authorized Fisheries Inspector (漁業監督官)
- Officers of Regional Forest Office (森林官)
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
- Coast Guard Officer (海上保安官)
- (Seafarer's Labour Officer)
Ministry of Defense
- Military police officer (警務官)
Officials working for public safety, except for Special judicial police officials
There are other officers having limited public safety functions.
The National Diet
- Diet guard (衛視)
Ministry of Justice
- Immigration control officer (入国警備官)
- Immigration inspector (入国審査官)
- Public security intelligence officer (公安調査官)
- Public prosecutor (検察官)
- Public prosecutor's assistant officer (検察事務官)
Ministry of Finance
- Customs official (税関職員)
- Officers of National Tax Agency (国税庁職員)
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
- Quarantine Officer (検疫官)
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
Tables
Officer | are Special judicial police officials (特別司法警察職員) | can arrest suspects with arrest warrant | can carry firearms | Salary schedule which is applied |
---|---|---|---|---|
Imperial guard (皇宮護衛官) | Public Security Service | |||
Prison guard (刑務官) | Public Security Service | |||
Narcotics agent (麻薬取締官) | Administrative Service | |||
Labor Standards Inspector (労働基準監督官) | Administrative Service | |||
Authorized Fisheries Supervisor (漁業監督官) | Administrative Service | |||
Coast Guard Officer (海上保安官) | Public Security Service | |||
Military police officer (警務官) | Officials of Ministry of Defense | |||
Diet guard (衛視) | (議院警察職) | |||
Immigration control officer (入国警備官) | Public Security Service | |||
Immigration inspector (入国審査官) | Administrative Service | |||
Public security intelligence officer (公安調査官) | Public Security Service | |||
Public prosecutor (検察官) | Public Prosecutor | |||
Public prosecutor's assistant officer (検察事務官) | Public Security Service | |||
Customs official (税関職員) | Administrative Service | |||
cf. Police officer | (judicial police official) | Public Security Service |
Laws and regulations for restricted materials
Firearm and weapon policy
The
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 either, both in law enforcement and in Japanese society; if a celebrity is arrested, it could potentially end their career.
Authorities can detain a suspect for up to three weeks without charges. Solitary confinement is common and imprisoned suspects only get access to a lawyer.[22] It is illegal to mail prescription drugs, and only designated parties in Japan are allowed to import them.[23]
If someone intends to bring more than one month of prescription medication, cosmetics, or medical devices into Japan, they are required to obtain import certification called yakkan shoumei (薬監証明).[24]
Historical secret police organizations
- Tokko(Investigated and controlled political groups and ideologies deemed to be a threat to public order)
- Military Police of the Imperial Japanese Army)
- Naval Police of the Imperial Japanese Navy)
See also
- Shinsengumi, a special police force of the late shogunate period
References
- This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Country Studies. Federal Research Division.
- ^ Supreme Court of Japan (2005). "Who will conduct the investigation?". Retrieved 2018-11-01.
- ^ Japanese Law Translation (2011-12-01). "日本法令外国語訳データベースシステム-刑事訴訟法" [Code of Criminal Procedure]. Ministry of Justice. p. 1. Retrieved 2017-06-14.
- ^ UNODC. "Data and Analysis>Crime surveys>The periodic United Nations Surveys of Crime Trends and Operations of Criminal Justice Systems>Fifth Survey (1990 - 1994)". Archived from the original on 2009-07-29. Retrieved 2008-08-26.
- ^ UNODC. "Data and Analysis>Crime surveys>The periodic United Nations Surveys of Crime Trends and Operations of Criminal Justice Systems>Sixth Survey (1995 - 1997)>Sorted by variable". Retrieved 2008-08-26.
- ^ UNODC. "Data and Analysis>Crime surveys>The periodic United Nations Surveys of Crime Trends and Operations of Criminal Justice Systems>Seventh Survey (1998 - 2000)>Sorted by variable". Retrieved 2008-08-26.
- ^ UNODC. "Data and Analysis>Crime surveys>The periodic United Nations Surveys of Crime Trends and Operations of Criminal Justice Systems>Eighth Survey (2001 - 2002)>Sorted by variable". Retrieved 2008-08-26.
- ^ UNODC. "Data and Analysis>Crime surveys>The periodic United Nations Surveys of Crime Trends and Operations of Criminal Justice Systems>Ninth Survey (2003 - 2004)>Values and Rates per 100,000 Total Population Listed by Country". Retrieved 2008-08-26.
- ^ Highest to Lowest. World Prison Brief (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 the 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.
- ^ "UNODC Statistics Online". United Nations Office On Drugs and Crime. Retrieved 12 May 2018.".
- ^ "Global Study on Homicide - Statistics and Data". dataunodc.un.org. Retrieved 2019-07-15.
- ^ "Guns in Japan: Facts, Figures and Firearm Law". Gunpolicy.org. University of Sydney School of Public Health. Retrieved 2013-05-19.
- ^ "Nikkei; LEAD: No. Of Suicides Falls Below 30,000 For 1st Time In 15 Years". Nikkei. 2013-01-17. Retrieved 2013-01-17.
- ^ a b National Police Agency Police History Compilation Committee 1977, pp. 442–448.
- ^ a b c d National Police Agency (2018). POLICE OF JAPAN 2018 (Overview of Japanese Police) (PDF) (Report).
- ^ a b "Interpol Japan Page". Interpol. Archived from the original on 2015-03-18. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
- ^ a b "4. Human Resources" (PDF). (警察庁) National Police Agency. National Police Agency. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-10-25. Retrieved 2018-08-13.
- ^ "Insignia of the JSDF personnel". JSDF Kumamoto Provincial Cooperation office. Japan Self Defense Force. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
- ^ a b "Description of the Japanese Police Organization". Archived from the original on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
- ^ "Outline of the police system" (PDF). Union of Kansan Gavernments. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 July 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
- Japan Times. November 29, 2008. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
- ^ Fisher, Max (July 23, 2012). "A Land Without Guns: How Japan Has Virtually Eliminated Shooting Deaths". The Atlantic. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
- ^ "Drug Laws in Japan: You'd Better have a Prescription". Tofugu. 2011-12-02. Archived from the original on 2019-05-13. Retrieved 2019-07-16.
- ^ "Why Japan Is So Strict About Drugs". Kotaku. 2019-03-14. Archived from the original on 2019-07-13. Retrieved 2019-07-16.
- ^ "Bringing Your Meds To Japan? Study The Laws A Little". DeepJapan. 2015-06-24. Archived from the original on 2019-01-27. Retrieved 2019-07-16.
Books
- Yoshino, Jun. (2005). "Law Enforcement in the Edo Period". In: Japan Echo, vol. 31 n. 3, June 2005. p. 59-62.
- National Police Agency Police History Compilation Committee, ed. (1977). Japan post-war police history (in Japanese). Japan Police Support Association.
External links
- NPA Official Site (Japanese)
- NPA Official Site (English)
- Imperial Guard Headquarters
Regional Bureaus
- Kanto Regional Police Bureau
- Chubu Regional Police Bureau
- Kinki Regional Police Bureau
- Chugoku Regional Police Bureau
- Shikoku Regional Police Bureau
- Kyushu Regional Police Bureau
Police communications Bureaus
Kobans