Police and Community Safety in Japan: Model or Myth?

Abstract

Recent developments in Japan have produced a contradictory picture of Japanese policing that detracts from its promotion as an exemplar and suggests similarities with police systems elsewhere, particularly with regard to police occupational culture. This convergence is evident in tensions between police service and police force, captured here in two case studies that explore sexual assault investigation and the police's handling of the Aum affair respectively. The former acknowledges greater awareness of deficiencies amongst senior police officials, but argues that recent initiatives will have to be accompanied by major shifts in rank-and-file police attitudes if real strides are to be taken in this area. The second case study illuminates the tension between procedural restraint before the sarin gas attack and authoritarian, even repressive, measures after it. The article concludes with a call for more openness on the part of the Japanese police so as to allow serious comparative research.