Because the public has been conditioned not to believe anything it doesn't see on TV or read in the paper, a problem is not considered a problem until the media says it is. This realization brings up the question: What was it before?
The question takes on disturbing ramifications with regard to reports of professional ineptitude and misfeasance in the National Police Agency that began last fall when the Kanagawa Prefectural Police Department was rocked by a series of scandals. Officers from the department were accused of everything from stealing drugs and money to sexually abusing female suspects. The corruption and venality was so widespread that it led to the resignation of the NPA chief.
It didn't end there, however. Since the beginning of the year, the news media have been filled with stories of policemen being caught with their hands in the till or up some woman's dress. In Fukushima, a 28-year-old officer was charged with forging a deposition. A former Nagoya policeman admitted to extorting money from a bar he frequented. A 59-year-old precinct chief in Hokkaido was accused of sexually harassing a female acquaintance. In Tokushima, a 43-year-old officer was fired after helping himself to some confiscated cash. A sergeant from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department was arrested for groping a woman on the Tokaido Line.