What's new

The police of Japan?

Jack

後輩
12 Jun 2004
643
20
28
What are the police and law enforcement officers of Japan like?
Are they helpfull to foreigners? Are they understanding to people that might not know the language? Are much of the police force equipped to speak another language, e.g. English?
I know of my own personal experiences with the police they tend to judge me because im young and like to talk (its true:) ), do the police of japan have any prejudices of "different" people?
Anyone had a conflicts or "run-ins" with the long arm of the law? how was you treated?
 
Generally they are quite helpful to English speakers. I have heard that they aren't so friendly to asians though.

I've taught quite a few Policemen and women English. They study hard, and they all seem decent people from what I can see of them.

There is a difference between the power Japanese police have and that of the North American police. A yankee (punk with hair usually dyed blonde) can push and push a police officer, and the police officer won't do anything but keep trying to talk to the guy. That just would never go over in Canada. A police officer pushed in Canada just might pull out his stick or retaliate somehow.

I know my brother as a teenager (he was a tough kid on the streets) and his friends were very intimidated by a few of the police officers in the hometown, and said that these police officers found ways of giving pain without leaving marks. Quite different from the Japanese police officer.

The other common common complaint among the Japanese here is that the police never do anything till after a crime has happened. A woman could call the police cause a stalker was following her, but they won't even come till after the woman has been assaulted, raped, or even killed. I don't know that they are quite that ineffective, but i don't think the common complaint is without reason.

I taught one guy who had just been promted from prison warden to detective. He was a slender ever cheerful guy, always with a cup of coffee in hand. But his schedule was just grueling. He regularly got to bed at 2 or 3 am, and got up at 7, doing this two or three weeks at a time without a single holiday. How he stayed ever cheerful is beyond me, as I would have been just a mess.

Dunno, I'll add more as people remind me of other things.
 
大丈夫
Dai joubu.
all right/no problem!

I was treated fine- when asking for a address while visiting, the Tokyou police
helped me getting there..I mean the officer of course did not escort me there,
furthermore he showed me the building on a map, I couldn't read either..
but I found it then - quick&easily!

..and again-what you give is what you get. and not only in Japan

ja ne-
bye
 
myjp said:
大丈夫
Dai joubu.
all right/no problem!

I was treated fine- when asking for a address while visiting, the Tokyou police
helped me getting there..I mean the officer of course did not escort me there,
furthermore he showed me the building on a map, I couldn't read either..
but I found it then - quick&easily!

..and again-what you give is what you get. and not only in Japan

ja ne-
bye
So they're helpfull are they?
Do the police have much presence on the streets? here in the U.K. they patrol the streets on foot, is this the same with japan?
 
I had similar experiences with police, usually at a koban, but one incident stands out in my mind. My friends and I were engaged in out typical drinking in the streets of Shibuya when we heard a shout. We turned, and a guy was running from 5 cops. They chased him down, stuck their knees in his back and choked him with their clubs. After cuffing him, they picked him up and, while still choking him, took him off in another direction. I felt like I was back home after seeing that (I'm from LA).
 
ive had no trouble with them.. they even let me speed..lol you can tell what cars belong to the base and what ones dont..
 
I had no problems what-so-ever with the police in Japan. They were able to help me with directions on a couple of occaisions. And once I even got them to take a picture together with while I was visiting Kobe! They all laughed about that because they thought it was funny that a foreigner wanted his picture taken with the police! 😌

Anyway, they seemed nice enough. I'm sure it all depends on the individual, but I think in general there isn't too much worry . . .
 
I believe they carry a 9mm, which is issued to them (here in the states they have to buy their own sidearm).

They do foot patrols in a sense, but from what I understand they are most commonly found in the koban, kind of a small cop hut peppered throughout the city. I found them to be very helpful, especially when I needed directions. I never bothered to get in any trouble, so I couldn't tell you how they act when you break the law.
 
nice gaijin said:
I believe they carry a 9mm, which is issued to them (here in the states they have to buy their own sidearm).

They do foot patrols in a sense, but from what I understand they are most commonly found in the koban, kind of a small cop hut peppered throughout the city. I found them to be very helpful, especially when I needed directions. I never bothered to get in any trouble, so I couldn't tell you how they act when you break the law.


While I am not disputing what nice gaijin has said, many of the officers do not carry any sidearms. They do however carry batons which (most of them) are more than capable of subdueing the average person with.

I have never had any trouble with the police (aside from being caught speeding a few times), and have only heard a few stories from people who have (but many of them broke the law in some manner!) But, there are people here who are predudiced towards the police in Japan, so until you have your own bad experience, please take what you read here with a grain of salt.
 
Jayern said:
Does that mean they have the option to carry a gun or not?
I suppose that's what it means... I know that they are issued a sidearm, but technically law enforcement are the only ones allowed to carry firearms in Japan. I'm told that the first round in the clip must be a blank, for a warning shot or something along those lines.

While driving near the imperial palace in Tokyo, I saw a group of officers standing around near a large police van, and they were all armed. I didn't notice whether the other cops I ran into during my visit were strapped, it's possible they weren't.
 
Accordng to the data in 2002,

24 pointing gun cases
20 warning shot cases
10 actual shots

Once an officer fires his/her gun, it turns big news here.
 
when president bush came through japan.. he stoped at Yokota AB. we augmented about 200 Japanese police to help patrol and provide security. each team had a swat bus and 2 swat vans. each heavily armored and had a snorkle to go into water.. why i dont know.. but they had them parked everywhere... When going off base we are allowed to be armed when on duty and in uniform. the Japanese police taht come on base are also armed. most the time.
 
One more thing about the police: if you are a tourist in Japan and you encounter a policeman, they can ask to see your passport, or, if you are a long-term resident, your foreigner registration card (like an id card for all non-japanese). If you do not have either of these, they can take you to the station until someone arrives with either of the articles required. Seems pretty harsh, but they're quite strict on illegal immigrants.
 
I think the issue is that they can search anyone any time. It sticks out more when they randomly search foreigners. Maybe it is racism, but it's part of the rules. The only time I was ever searched was on vacation... just this past September during the elections (heightened alert). Never once was I bothered in the 7 years I lived there. I didn't have anything on me other than my Hawaiian license. I told them the passport was w/ my wife in the hotel, and they were very cool. I think they were just glad they didn't have to get out their English phrase book.
 
i can't remember if i posted it before so i will keep this short
*heavy hand clapping and huzzahs ensue*
was walking in minowa being a tourists
three police at koban "hey you!!!! come here!!!"
uhhhhh me?
"yes you!!! you come here!!!"
go over cautiously
"yes..."
he hit newspaper, "you see news?!! bush get saddam!!!"
relief greatly ensued, i then eleborated in japanese on my political leanings or the lack thereof and had a few laughs conversating about the situation as i saw it
it wasn't until walking off that i noticed how wet my boxers shorts had become
tropical tokyo winter had struck again :eek:
 
maybe they meant this

nice gaijin said:
... I'm told that the first round in the clip must be a blank, for a warning shot or something along those lines. ...

Nice Gaijin,

Maybe what they meant was that they didn't chamber the first round. The clip on any automatic pistol has a spring at the bottom that forces the ammunition up to the top. So as long as there is even one round in the clip then there is a round at the top. However that round isn't in the chamber until the slide mechanism is pulled back. Generally that motion also ejects the spent cartridge (if any) that was just fired. This is done automatically by the fireing of a bullet. But when loading the gun it can be done manually by pulling the slide back.
 
Jayern said:
do they even have guns?

Their pistol is the SIG P230 JP (Correct me if I'm wrong), if I'm right. They did switch to autos from their Japanese-made Miroku and Nambu revolvers.

I also heard that the Shin Chuo Koggyo 9mm Kenju (Licensed Sig Sauer P220) is also used by the National Police Agency, but I'm not sure.

PS - Their SWAT here is called the SAT (Special Assault Team).
 
Just for the record, I took another vacation to visit family and friends, and once again, I was stopped on the street and asked for my passport. No pocket, bag, or body check, just form of ID showing I was legally able to be there. Of course, it was in my hotel with my wife, which they weren't too happy with.

So, for the record. Seven years as a residence = no hassle. Two leisure trips = two random stoppings.
 
lol in the Country-city I lived in, the poice had so much free time on their hands that they would hide behind buildings on the main road and look for Highschool kids doubling up on bikes, proceed to jump out in front of the named doublers and then fine them for doubling up
 
Back
Top Bottom