The Japanese police have long enjoyed a high reputation both at home and abroad, due partly to their efficiency in apprehending criminals. Today, however, the Japanese police system is suffering from a breakdown of ethics, caused in part by its insular nature.
The recent scandal involving the commissioner of the Niigata Prefectural Police Headquarters assumed serious proportions when it was revealed that the Niigata police failed to comply with a request from a public health center to dispatch officers to confirm the identity of a woman whom public health officials suspected had been abducted. The police headquarters was obliged to correct its earlier false statement because an another public office was involved. I suspect that the police scandal is only the tip of the iceberg, and that similar cases exist throughout the country.
In an attempt to quell the public's anger, the National Police Agency accepted the resignation of the Niigata commissioner and the director general of the agency's Kanto Regional Police Bureau, and cut the latter's salary as well.