Law enforcement in Japan is provided mainly by prefectural police under the oversight of the National Police Agency. 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.
A Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department officer with their van outside Ueno Station
A police officer directing traffic after the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake
A police officer on air raid duty outside the TMPD's headquarters in 1945
A pair of TMPD officers wearing newly-issued uniforms in 1946
In the law enforcement system in Japan, prefectural police are prefecture-level law enforcement agencies responsible for policing, law enforcement, and public security within their respective prefectures of Japan. Although prefectural police are, in principle, regarded as municipal police, they are mostly under the central oversight and control of the National Police Agency.
Osaka City Municipal Police cars, c. 1948–1955. This photograph predates the prefectural police system.
Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department headquarters building in Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda
The Akita Prefectural Police Headquarters in Akita City
A police officer talking to children in front of a kōban
