Lifelines was recently contacted by Jack Marquardt, who served with the United States Army's 720th Military Police Battalion in Tokyo from 1946-48. Jack, who still calls Tokyo home, is trying to locate a statue of significance to the battalion and its veterans. He shared the story of the battalion's activities in Japan and I'd like to summarize the details here.
During the Allied Occupation (1945-52), the men of the battalion, usually just called the 720 MPs, took on the role of police officers in Tokyo. Established in the United States in 1942, the MPs were first shipped to Australia, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines, before arriving in Japan in 1945.
The duties of the several hundred members of the battalion included conducting patrols on foot and by jeep around central Tokyo, directing traffic and guarding various Allied installations. They also cooperated closely with the Japanese police and, aside from the language barrier, it seems the two groups worked well together.