LYCEUM OF ALABANG

COLLEGE OF CRIMINOLOGY

SUBJECT : COMPARATIVE POLICE SYSTEM

TOPIC : JAPAN POLICE SYSTEM

REPORTER : NAVARRO, JAIRONN R.

SUBMITTED TO : DR. RICARDO P. AQUINO JR.

Police System: Japan ( Keisatsu Seid)

Japan is Constitutional Monarchy in which the power of the Emperor

is limited and is relegated primarily to ceremonial duties.

Prime Minister the head of government. He or she is designated by the

National Diet and appointed to office by the Emperor

the Government is divided into three branches:

Executive branch

Legislative branch

Judicial branch

BRIEF HISTORY

Fuedal Japan: Edo Period (16031867)

Hatamoto - high ranking samurai with an allegiance to the Tokugawa shogunate

were appointed machi-bugy (city administrators or commissioners) with roles as:

chief of police

prosecutor

judge

and other judicial related business

both criminal and civil in Edo and other major towns

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Yoriki Working under the machi-bugy. they managed patrols and

guard units composed of lower ranking officials. Yoriki, being of

a higher class, were able to ride a horse while performing their

duties and were trusted to carry out assignments of high

importance.

Dshin a lower class than yoriki. performed the duties of prison guard

and patrol officer which required close contact with commoners

(chonin). They investigated crimes such as murder and helped

with executions

Komono were non-samurais who went with the dshin on patrols and

provided assistance.

Okappiki were non-samurai from the lowest outcast class, often former

criminals who worked for the dshin as informers and spies

Gyokiki/ were a non-samurai or outcast class who were hired by local

meakashi residents and merchants to work as police assistants in a

particular neighborhood

Gonin-Gumi - The citizenry was organized into Five-family associations, whose

members were collectively responsible for the actions and activities of any one of

their members.

"Go yo! - to inform a subject that he had been placed under arrest was to simply

shout the word "Go yo!. the expression was also used to mean "Official business!"

or "Clear the way!

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End of the Samurai Class: Meiji Restoration

In 1868 the samurai era ended with the overthrow of the Tokugawa

shogunate, a new government came into power and the samurai class was

eventually abolished. Kawaji Toshiyoshi, a former samurai was sent on a tour of

Europe in 1872 to study various law enforcement systems. he recommended the

following:

France's Third Republic

Prussia

Home Ministry was established in 1873, wherein civilian police powers were

centralized at the national level.The Tokyo metropolitan area came under the

jurisdiction of the Teikoku Keishich () or Keishich, which was

personally headed by Kawaji from 1874, and from which he could direct the

organization of the national police system.

Keihkyoku (Police Bureau) had quasi-judicial functions, including the power to

issue ordinances, regulate business licenses, construction permits, industrial

safety and public health issues, in addition to its criminal investigation and public

order functions the centralized police system steadily acquired responsibilities,

until it controlled almost all aspects of daily life, including fire prevention and

mediation of labor disputes.

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COLLEGE OF CRIMINOLOGY

Special Higher Police (Tokko) were created to regulate the content of motion

pictures, political meetings, and election campaigns.

The vague wording of the Peace Preservation Laws gave all police

organizations wide scope for interpretation of what constituted "criminal activity",

and under the guise of "maintenance of order", the police were allowed broad

powers for surveillance and arrest.

Post-World War II

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

Home Affairs (now part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications) and

the police were stripped of their responsibility for fire protection, public health, and

other administrative duties. The principle of decentralization was introduced by the

1947 Police Law and civilian control was to be ensured by placing the police under

the jurisdiction of the National Public Safety Commission in the Office of the Prime

Minister.

National Public and Safety Commission

equivalent of National Police Commissions in the Philippines

ensures that Japan's police are an apolitical body and free of direct central

government executive control.

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New National Police Agency.

Diet of Japan passed 1947 Police Law creating the New National Police Agency.

determines general standards and policies;

detailed direction of operations is left to the lower echelons.

Headed by Commissioner General appointed by the National Public Safety

Commission with the approval of the prime minister

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Commissioner General
The highest-ranking police officer of the Japanese national police agency. Under
the power and control of the Commissioner general come two other officers
which are given as follows:

Deputy commission general

Commissioner generals secretariat

The Administration Bureau - is concerned with police personnel, education,

welfare, training, and unit inspections.
Criminal Investigation Bureau- in-charge of research statistics and the
investigation of nationally important and international cases.
Traffic Bureau - It is concerned of the licenses drivers, enforces traffic safety
laws, and regulates traffic.
Security Bureau It formulates and supervises the execution of security policies.
It conducts research on equipment and tactics for suppressing riots and oversaw
and coordinates activities of the riot police. Foreign affairs and intelligence
department of Japan
Communication Bureau - information and communication department
National Police Academy
Info-communications Bureau
Imperial Guard Headquarters

Regional Bureaus :
Tohoku Regional Police Bureau
Kanto Regional Police Bureau
Chubu Regional Police Bureau
Kinki Regional Police Bureau
Chugoku Regional Police Bureau
Shikoku Regional Police Bureau
Kyushu Regional Police Bureau
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Police Ranks
As far as the police officers are concerned, they are divided into nine major
ranks, which are given as follows:

Commissioner general- Highest title or rank in the NPA and chief of the National
Police Agency of Japan
Superintendent general-He is the chief of the metropolitan police department
Superintendent supervisor-he is the chief of the prefectural police headquarters
Chief superintendent-he is the head of the prefectural police headquarters as
well.
Senior superintendent-he is the chief of the police station of his area of
recruitment.
Superintendent-he is the vice commanding officer of the police station of his area
of recruitment.
Police inspector or captain-he is the leader of the riot company and the squad
commander of the police station.
Assistant police inspector-he is the leader of the riot platoon and squad sub
commander of the police station as well.
Police sergeant - the field supervisor and leader of the police box.
Police officer-this is the starting point of a police officers journey in the NPA
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Corresponding Rank and Insignia

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Civil Law System also known as Continental justice or Romano-Germanic justice,

distinguished by a strong inquisitorial system where fewer rights are granted to the

accused, and the written law is taken as gospel and subject to little interpretation.

The Koban System

Initially established in 1874 as watch boxes for local law enforcement

formal name for a police box before was Hashutsujo,

is a small neighborhood police station found in Japan. also refers to the

smallest organizational unit in today's Japanese police system.

All police boxes and residential police boxes feature a red lamp above their

entrances.

Police officers stationed at kban serve several roles:

Crime report

Maps and directions

Lost and found

Emergency services

"110" - emergency telephone number

Chuzaisho are the rural equivalent to koban manned by a single officer, who lives

his family in the residential section attached to the office.

Chuzai san name given to officer assigned in chuzaisho

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Some reasons why Japan has low crime rate:

community policing

shame-based rather than guilt-based as Western societies are.

the importance of higher education

strict gun control

Highly efficient Justice system

Tokyo Metropolitan Police

The largest urban police force in the world consist of 43,273 police officers (and

3,095 part-time officers) Second is New York City Police Department 36,000

Third is Hong Kong's Police Force 28,191. Anyone who lives in Tokyo knowns

that the police maintain high visibility in the community. Tokyo police take small

crimes seriously. Report a bicycle stolen and they will actually try to solve the

crime.

Strict Gun Control

Rigorous background checks

Mental fitness screening

Sobriety test

Written exams

Provide gun location to police

Weapon and ammo stored separately

Training class every 3 years

Annual police inspections

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Highly Efficient Justice System

89% confessions on criminal prosecutions

98% homicide cases solved

99.8% of prosecution end in a guilty verdict

Criticisms of Japans Low Crime Rate

coerced confession - some suspects will falsely admit guilt just to end a

stressful interrogation

prosecutors may hold ordinary criminal suspects for up to 10 days without

charge

under reported crime- Unlike the rare violent crimes, sexual assaults are

said to be widespread and severely underreported. The existence

of chikan (perverts - men groping women in public)

criticized for failing to take victims of sexual crimes seriously time and

again as a result of either chauvinist bias or an inability to investigate such

crimes.

What are most disturbing are however arguments that the low crime is

partially a result of a police culture that are obsessed with keeping crime

statistics low.

Coincidentally, Japan has one of the highest suicide rates in the world.