National Police Agency (Japan) Explained

Agencyname:National Police Agency
Nativenamea:Japanese: 警察庁
Abbreviation:NPA
Badge:Asahikage.svg
Badgecaption:The Kyokujitsushou
Employees:7,995 (2020)[1]
Budget:¥360.348 billion (2020)[2]
Country:Japan
National:Yes
Legalpersonality:Law enforcement agency
Headquarters:2-1-2 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda, Tokyo 100-8974, Japan
Unsworntype:Civilian
Unsworn:4,800
Chief1name:Yasuhiro Tsuyuki
Chief1position:Commissioner General
Parentagency:National Public Safety Commission
Child1agency:National Police Academy
Child2agency:National Research Institute of Police Science
Child3agency:Imperial Guard Headquarters
Unittype:Bureau
Officetype:Regional Bureau
Website:www.npa.go.jp/english/index.html
www.npa.go.jp
Footnotes:[3]

The is the central coordinating law enforcement agency of the Japanese police system. Unlike national police in other countries, the NPA does not have any operational units of its own aside from the Imperial Guard; rather, it is responsible for supervising Japan's 47 prefectural police departments and determining their general standards and policies, though it can command police agencies under it in national emergencies or large-scale disasters. It is under the National Public Safety Commission of the Cabinet Office.[4]

As of 2017, the NPA has a strength of approximately 7,800 personnel: 2,100 sworn officers, 900 guards, and 4,800 civilian staff.[5]

History

Police services of the Empire of Japan were placed under complete centralized control with the of the Home Ministry at their core. But after the surrender of Japan, the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers regarded this centralized police system as undemocratic.[6]

During the occupation, the principle of decentralization was introduced by the 1947 Police Law. Cities and large towns had their own, and the was responsible for smaller towns, villages and rural areas. But most Japanese municipalities were too small to have a large police force, so sometimes they were unable to deal with large-scale violence. In addition, excessive fragmentation of the police organization reduced the efficiency of police activities.[6]

As a response to these problems, complete restructuring created a more centralized system under the 1954 amended Police Law. All operational units except for the Imperial Guard were reorganized into prefectural police for each prefecture, and the National Police Agency was established as the central coordinating agency for these Police Departments.[6]

On April 1, 2022, the NPA created the Cyber Affairs Bureau and the National Cyber Unit.[7] On December 2023, the NPA announced that the TAIT (Telecom Scam Allianced Investigation Team) will be established on April 2024 to unify investigation efforts across Japan on fraud cases.[8]

Organization

Leadership

The is the highest ranking police officer of Japan, regarded as an exception to the regular class structure. For the, the Senior Commissioner is supplemented. The are their staff. The civilian political leadership is provided by the National Public Safety Commission.[6]

Internal Bureaus

Community Safety Bureau

The is responsible for crime prevention, combating juvenile delinquency, and pollution control.[9] [10]

This bureau was derived from the Safety Division of the Criminal Affairs Bureau in 1994.[11]

Criminal Affairs Bureau

The is in charge of research statistics and coordination of the criminal investigation of nationally important and international cases.[9]

Traffic Bureau

The is responsible for traffic policing and regulations. This bureau was derived from the (later merged with the Criminal Affairs Bureau; predecessor of the Community Safety Bureau) in 1962 because of the expression indicating a high number of deaths from traffic accidents.[6] [9]

Security Bureau

See main article: National Police Agency Security Bureau. The is in charge of the internal security affairs, such as counter-intelligence, counter-terrorism or disaster response.[6] [9]

After the 1996 Japanese embassy hostage crisis in Peru, the Security Bureau established the Terrorism Response Team where officers liaise with foreign law enforcement and intelligence agencies when Japanese interests or nationals are in danger.[12] It was later reformed to the Terrorism Response Team - Tactical Wing (TRT-2) for Overseas in order to meet with demands to coordinate with foreign police forces in assisting them whenever a terror attack has happened.[12]

Cyber Affairs bureau

The is in charge of policing in cyberspace, combat with cybercrime and cyberterrorism.This bureau was restructured from the Info-Communications Bureau in 2022 by integrating cyber-related divisions in several bureaus.[13]

Local Branch Bureaus and Departments

Regional Police Bureaus

There are six, each responsible for a number of prefectures as below:[14]

Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Akita, Yamagata, and Fukushima Prefectures
  • Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa, Niigata, Yamanashi, Nagano, and Shizuoka Prefectures
  • Toyama, Ishikawa, Fukui, Gifu, Aichi, and Mie Prefectures
  • Shiga, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Nara, and Wakayama Prefectures
  • Tottori, Shimane, Okayama, Hiroshima, and Yamaguchi Prefectures
  • Tokushima, Kagawa, Ehime, and Kochi Prefectures
    Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Oita, Miyazaki, Kagoshima, and Okinawa Prefectures

    They are located in major cities of each geographic region. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and Hokkaido Prefectural Police Headquarters are excluded from the jurisdiction of regional police bureaus. Headed by a Senior Commissioner, each regional police bureaus exercises necessary control and supervision over and provides support services to prefectural police within its jurisdiction, under the authority and orders of NPA's Commissioner General. Attached to each Regional Police Bureaus is a Regional Police School which provides police personnel with education and training required of staff officers as well as other necessary education and training.

    Police Communications Departments

    Metropolitan Tokyo and the island of Hokkaidō are excluded from the regional jurisdictions and are run more autonomously than other local forces, in the case of Tokyo, because of its special urban situation, and of Hokkaidō, because of its distinctive geography. The National Police Agency maintains police communications divisions in these two areas to handle any coordination needed between national and local forces. In other area, Police Communications Departments are established within each Regional Police Bureaus.

    Subsidiary Organs

    See also

    External links

    Notes and References

    1. https://elaws.e-gov.go.jp/search/elawsSearch/elaws_search/lsg0500/detail?lawId=344CO0000000121 行政機関職員定員令(昭和44年5月16日政令第121号)(最終改正、令和2年3月30日政令第75号)
    2. https://www.bb.mof.go.jp/server/2020/dlpdf/DL202011001.pdf 令和2年度一般会計予算
    3. Web site: Police of Japan . National Police Agency . 2008-08-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080222082144/http://www.npa.go.jp/english/kokusai/index.htm . 2008-02-22.
    4. Web site: Police of Japan . National Police Agency . POLICE OF JAPAN - NATIONAL POLICE AGENCY | Office of Justice Programs . 19 May 2022 . www.ojp.gov.
    5. POLICE OF JAPAN 2018 (Overview of Japanese Police). 2018. National Police Agency. 2019-04-07. 2019-04-07. https://web.archive.org/web/20190407113415/https://www.npa.go.jp/english/Police_of_Japan/Police_of_Japan_2018_full_text.pdf. live.
    6. Book: National Police Agency Police History Compilation Committee. 1977. Japan post-war police history. Japan Police Support Association. ja.
    7. Web site: Japan makes progress on international cyber probe collaboration . 4 September 2023 .
    8. Web site: Police to Set up Special Fraud Investigation Team . 14 December 2023 .
    9. Web site: National Police Agency. Mechanism of Police systems. 2016-11-07. ja. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20121206081313/http://www.npa.go.jp/koho1/sikumi.htm. 2012-12-06.
    10. Web site: NPA. Organization Chart. 2024-04-28. en.
    11. Web site: Japan Federation of Bar Associations. Declaration on police activities and citizens' human rights. 2016-11-08. ja. https://web.archive.org/web/20161115193530/http://www.nichibenren.or.jp/activity/document/civil_liberties/year/1994/1994_3.html. 2016-11-15. dead.
    12. Web site: Archived copy . 2011-03-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110323151825/https://www.npa.go.jp/english/kokusai9/White_Paper_2009_7.pdf . 2011-03-23 . live .
    13. Web site: Asahi Shinbun news papre. NPA to create new bureau for cybersecurity threats. 2024-04-28. en.
    14. Web site: Public Safety Commission System and Police Activity Support. https://web.archive.org/web/20120420082225/http://www.npa.go.jp/hakusyo/h22/english/White_Paper_2010_8.pdf. 2012-04-20. Japanese National Police Agency. 2012-02-15. dead.