A feature of the National Police Agency's new white paper for 2000 is its recognition of the need to repair the tarnished image of Japan's scandal-tainted police forces. In a preface titled "Aiming to Regain the Nation's Trust," the document for the first time ever in a report of this kind tackles the touchy subject of criminal acts committed by the police themselves, including coverups of illegal behavior by fellow officers. This acknowledgment of a painful truth is certainly welcome, but because it is so belated it does not call for congratulations.

Of course, the white paper deals with many other aspects of the current crime situation in Japan. But some of these also do not reflect well on the police -- most notably the fact that while crime continues to increase (a record 2.17 million offenses were reported in 1999), the arrest rate has plummeted to a record low. The NPA had already warned the public of this disturbing trend last month, when it described the same imbalance in its regular interim report on conditions in the first six months of this year. It is clear that what was a bad situation in 1999 is proving even worse in 2000.

It is not news that police investigations have failed to keep pace with the rise in serious crime. Several possible reasons have been suggested, but the NPA white paper gives major attention to two: the sudden upsurge in sophisticated "high-tech" crime and, in a regrettable but not so surprising development, a marked drop in the public's willingness to cooperate in criminal investigations.