Koban unwrapped: Tokyo’s colorful police boxes
December 1, 2011 by JapanGuide
Filed under Japan Today
Tokyo, and Japan in general, are justly praised for their overall safety. Part of the reason for the low crime rate, some people say, is the network of more than 6,000 koban (police boxes) scattered around the nation.
Each neighborhood has its own koban and the officers who man them (there are not many female constables) closely interact with the local people on many levels, from patrolling the area to responding to emergencies, effectively creating a sort of community policing.
Tohoku disaster a real-life drill for Tokyo police
May 8, 2011 by JapanGuide
Filed under Japan Today
Earthquakes and tsunamis are a geological fact-of-life in Japan, whether we want to admit it or not. But, if the Big One ever does hit the Kanto area as scientists expect, we can rest assured that the Tokyo authorities have been learning from their involvement with the rescue and relief efforts in the northeast since the March 11 disasters.
That’s because
many Tokyo-based police officers have been rescuing people and searching for
bodies in the zones affected by the tsunami and nuclear disasters in
northeastern Japan.
OJS48: Retired police officers make up Tokyo’s latest idol group
October 4, 2010 by JapanGuide
Filed under Japan Today
The ever-expanding list of ’48′ idol Jpop groups takes a surprising turn this month with a new Tokyo group — OJS48.
Ojisan 48 brings together 16 old men, all retired police officers and detectives, under the tutorship of AKB48 producer Akimoto Yasushi.
A group with authority
OJS48 have one advantage. This is a group that can rightly sing about life having seen and done it all. We wonder if they’ll get to the bottom of just why these manufactured groups are proving quite so inexplicably popular.
With an average age of 61, OJS48 will debut on October 13 with a song worryingly titled “Shinkokyu” (deep breathing) — maybe they have been investigating AKB48 et al a bit too closely.
Yokohama police mascots more cute than cop
September 7, 2010 by JapanGuide
Filed under Japan Today
In a country as obsessed with kawaii (cute) as Japan, the creation of official characters is serious business. So the fact that the police precinct of Seya, a homey suburb of Yokohama, debuted a pair of brand new mascots this month shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.
What is surprising, however, is just how curvaceous these particular mascots are.
“As far as I know,” laughs officer Tanaka of the Seya Police Department, “these are the most cutting-edge police mascot characters in existence.”
