National Police Agency of Japan

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