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"The Japanese police system today: an American perspective"
For reasons beyond the scope of this post, several years ago I flipped through a copy of the book The Japanese police system today: an American perspective (written by L. Craig Parker, 1984) and took some notes. I recently rediscovered the notebook with said notes so I'm posting them online in case anyone finds them useful. I'll include the page numbers that I recorded at the time. My handwriting is pretty bad so I cannot guarantee complete accuracy on these.
27. Japanese universities, like the rest of the society, are hierarchically ranked, with Tokyo University coming first in most fields, and the prestige of graduating from such an institution assures a variety of options, even for those not admitted to the Judicial and Legal Training Institute. For example, a majority of the members of the elite class of bureaucrats at the National Police Agency are Tokyo University law faculty graduates. Only ten to twenty of those who successfully pass the National Public Service Examination each year are admitted to this special class, hereafter referred to as the "elite" program, as assistant inspectors. The majority of those young officers eventually become chiefs of the forty-seven prefectural police agencies or assume other top posts.
51. [This is a list of titles I wrote down. No recollection if they were in a list/chart format or what.]
Police Superintendent Supervisor
Chief Police Superintendent
Senior Police Superintendent
Police Superintendent
Police Inspector
Assistant Police Inspector
Police Sergeant
Senior Policeman
Policeman
76. Tokyo University was the scene of some pitched battles between police and students during the late 1960s, it is now required that the chief of the Motofuji station be a Tokyo University graduate. The chief at the time of my visit was a graduate of the law department in his mid-thirties, who was a student at the time the police entered the campus. An agreement now exists that the president of the university will consult with police officials before any officers are allowed on campus. This young chief was particularly receptive to questions and was extremely helpful in explaining the problems of policing this area. A member of the elite police, he, like his colleagues, ad been rotated through various assignments and had recently left a post on the northernmost island, Hokkaido.
120. These conversations at police boxes were with "street-level" officers, usually hose holding the rank of policeman, senior policeman, sergeant, or assistant inspector. However, I also discussed these topics with higher-ranking personnel, including members of the elite police - those who had entered as assistant inspectors. Usually they are administrators working out of the headquarters of the National Police Agency, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, the Hokkaido Prefectural Police, and so on. Some where superintendents, others senior superintendents and occasionally even higher-ranking personnel at the apex of the administrative hierarchy. Meeting with these top-level officers were somewhat different in tone and often proved to be events in their own right.
132. There are two groups [of higher-ranking officers]: those who have risen through the ranks to inspector superintendent, or higher, and those who are identified from the outset as elite, having entered as assistant inspectors. The latter, as previously mentioned, are frequently graduates of Tokyo University's law department. Many of the superintendent and inspector-level middle managers I met were part of the elite group of those who had passed the National Public Service Examination. Some of the elite had considered other public service careers (the ministries compete for the most able graduates from the most prestigious universities) before joining the National Police Agency. Unlike the street-level police, few had family members in police work.
133. All who do manage to enter as assistant inspectors are marked for top careers with the National Police Agency. Many will rise to become chiefs of the forty-seven prefectural police agencies. Some will graduate into high-level positions within the headquarters of the National Police Agency in Tokyo, while others will be posted to Japanese embassies overseas. It is very difficult to enter, but once one has done so one can feel secure. It is rare for a person to be fired, mediocre job performance notwithstanding. If a person is not performing well, he will be shifted to a different position.
133? Promotions in the police, except at the top levels, are on a very regular basis, and an officer keeps pace for the most part with his "classmates". Entering bureaucrats are very conscious of colleagues who enter at the same time, and a sense of camaraderie often develops among them. Salary increases and regular bonuses that are given out twice annually, as indicated, are generally similar, and neither salary increasing nor bonuses are linked to meritorious performance, contrary to the practices in the United States.
133. As mentioned earlier, thirty thousand applicant annually seek admission to [the Judicial and Legal Training Institute], which accepts just five hundred. Moreover, just ten to twenty individuals are selected annually to become assistant inspectors in the National Police Agency's program to train and develop top managers.
134. One inspector impressed me specifically... At the outset of his career, after completing the mandatory three months of training at the National Police Academy, he was given an additional six-month field training assignment. Typical of other elite officers, he was given supervisory responsibility over a group of street police at a station in Aichi Prefecture, an opportunity for newcomers to get a feeling for grass roots policing.
137. He and his fellow elite officers are transferred on almost every one to three years and occasionally more frequently. There is a serious question as to whether these officers can attain a high level of productivity in their position, given their short-term assignments. Comments from several lower-ranking police officers ad legal scholars support such skepticism. On the other hand, one could hardly quarrel with the breadth of their training for eventual top prefectural police assignments. Furthermore, the officers themselves told me that they felt they could mast a new assignment in three to four months, and that two years in one post was just about the right amount of time.
139. One final problem should be noted. It is not easy on the personal lives of police marriages to have to move every two to three years, and it can be a wretched and painful experience for wives and children. As children become older their schooling becomes extremely important, and sometimes family will decide that it is best for them to say in a particular location while the father moves on to his new assignment. He will then return home on weekends, or, if he is in a distant prefecture, he may even be forced to fly home once a month.
204. As mentioned earlier, in Japan college-educated men and women complete a six-month course of training at the outset of their careers, while high school graduates complete a full year's course... Nor does the United States have anything approaching the "elite" system of Japan, whereby top university graduates can enter the police field as "management trainees," with appropriate rank and salary. In Japan, riding the "fast track," they can feel assured of regular promotions and lifetime job security.
27. Japanese universities, like the rest of the society, are hierarchically ranked, with Tokyo University coming first in most fields, and the prestige of graduating from such an institution assures a variety of options, even for those not admitted to the Judicial and Legal Training Institute. For example, a majority of the members of the elite class of bureaucrats at the National Police Agency are Tokyo University law faculty graduates. Only ten to twenty of those who successfully pass the National Public Service Examination each year are admitted to this special class, hereafter referred to as the "elite" program, as assistant inspectors. The majority of those young officers eventually become chiefs of the forty-seven prefectural police agencies or assume other top posts.
51. [This is a list of titles I wrote down. No recollection if they were in a list/chart format or what.]
Police Superintendent Supervisor
Chief Police Superintendent
Senior Police Superintendent
Police Superintendent
Police Inspector
Assistant Police Inspector
Police Sergeant
Senior Policeman
Policeman
76. Tokyo University was the scene of some pitched battles between police and students during the late 1960s, it is now required that the chief of the Motofuji station be a Tokyo University graduate. The chief at the time of my visit was a graduate of the law department in his mid-thirties, who was a student at the time the police entered the campus. An agreement now exists that the president of the university will consult with police officials before any officers are allowed on campus. This young chief was particularly receptive to questions and was extremely helpful in explaining the problems of policing this area. A member of the elite police, he, like his colleagues, ad been rotated through various assignments and had recently left a post on the northernmost island, Hokkaido.
120. These conversations at police boxes were with "street-level" officers, usually hose holding the rank of policeman, senior policeman, sergeant, or assistant inspector. However, I also discussed these topics with higher-ranking personnel, including members of the elite police - those who had entered as assistant inspectors. Usually they are administrators working out of the headquarters of the National Police Agency, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, the Hokkaido Prefectural Police, and so on. Some where superintendents, others senior superintendents and occasionally even higher-ranking personnel at the apex of the administrative hierarchy. Meeting with these top-level officers were somewhat different in tone and often proved to be events in their own right.
132. There are two groups [of higher-ranking officers]: those who have risen through the ranks to inspector superintendent, or higher, and those who are identified from the outset as elite, having entered as assistant inspectors. The latter, as previously mentioned, are frequently graduates of Tokyo University's law department. Many of the superintendent and inspector-level middle managers I met were part of the elite group of those who had passed the National Public Service Examination. Some of the elite had considered other public service careers (the ministries compete for the most able graduates from the most prestigious universities) before joining the National Police Agency. Unlike the street-level police, few had family members in police work.
133. All who do manage to enter as assistant inspectors are marked for top careers with the National Police Agency. Many will rise to become chiefs of the forty-seven prefectural police agencies. Some will graduate into high-level positions within the headquarters of the National Police Agency in Tokyo, while others will be posted to Japanese embassies overseas. It is very difficult to enter, but once one has done so one can feel secure. It is rare for a person to be fired, mediocre job performance notwithstanding. If a person is not performing well, he will be shifted to a different position.
133? Promotions in the police, except at the top levels, are on a very regular basis, and an officer keeps pace for the most part with his "classmates". Entering bureaucrats are very conscious of colleagues who enter at the same time, and a sense of camaraderie often develops among them. Salary increases and regular bonuses that are given out twice annually, as indicated, are generally similar, and neither salary increasing nor bonuses are linked to meritorious performance, contrary to the practices in the United States.
133. As mentioned earlier, thirty thousand applicant annually seek admission to [the Judicial and Legal Training Institute], which accepts just five hundred. Moreover, just ten to twenty individuals are selected annually to become assistant inspectors in the National Police Agency's program to train and develop top managers.
134. One inspector impressed me specifically... At the outset of his career, after completing the mandatory three months of training at the National Police Academy, he was given an additional six-month field training assignment. Typical of other elite officers, he was given supervisory responsibility over a group of street police at a station in Aichi Prefecture, an opportunity for newcomers to get a feeling for grass roots policing.
137. He and his fellow elite officers are transferred on almost every one to three years and occasionally more frequently. There is a serious question as to whether these officers can attain a high level of productivity in their position, given their short-term assignments. Comments from several lower-ranking police officers ad legal scholars support such skepticism. On the other hand, one could hardly quarrel with the breadth of their training for eventual top prefectural police assignments. Furthermore, the officers themselves told me that they felt they could mast a new assignment in three to four months, and that two years in one post was just about the right amount of time.
139. One final problem should be noted. It is not easy on the personal lives of police marriages to have to move every two to three years, and it can be a wretched and painful experience for wives and children. As children become older their schooling becomes extremely important, and sometimes family will decide that it is best for them to say in a particular location while the father moves on to his new assignment. He will then return home on weekends, or, if he is in a distant prefecture, he may even be forced to fly home once a month.
204. As mentioned earlier, in Japan college-educated men and women complete a six-month course of training at the outset of their careers, while high school graduates complete a full year's course... Nor does the United States have anything approaching the "elite" system of Japan, whereby top university graduates can enter the police field as "management trainees," with appropriate rank and salary. In Japan, riding the "fast track," they can feel assured of regular promotions and lifetime job security.