The Police Box merits another look in the final podcast of our series on police and jails in Japan.
Yuya, Maria, Kou
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Script
A:It was a great Welcome party! Thank you Kou. But it went on too long.
B:Yeah, let’s go on this way, there is a Koban along the street.
A:Koban? Is it a kind of Police box in Japan?
B:Yes. Although they are often translated to English as ”Police Box”,
The Koban is characteristic of the Japanese police system.
Do you know Japanese word ”Ko-tai (交代)“ which means, rotation?
A: No.
B: Well, the earliest structures of kobans were simple boxes for standing watch in rotation in the late 19th century.
So the name Koban means ”watching in rotation”. After that, Kobans were transformed into local community stations with some officers staying overnight and some different names were given to it, although these names are still common, Koban survived and is finaly the official name now.
A:I see, so the officers in Koban can keep watch on their citizens.
B:Not only that.
Police officers stationed at koban serve several roles.
First, Maps and directions.
They provide maps and directions to local addresses, even personally guiding.
Also officers can refer people to local hotels, restaurants, and other businesses.
A:They’re really kind! So I can go to a Koban when I get lost.
B:You must go. And you can go when you lost something too.
Accepting reports of lost items and accepting found items from members of the public is also a main role of Koban.
If a matching lost item is turned in, notifying the owner of the item to come pick it up.
A:I heard that, in Japan, you can get the lost item back relatevely easily.
B:It owes much to the local Koban.
the other is Crime reports, taking police reports, typically for property crimes such as theft and burglary.
And emergency services. As well as dialing the emergency telephone number ”110″ in case of police, fire, or medical emergency, direct contact can be made with the Koban.
A:They’re so responsible!
B:You think so too?
The koban system has become popular with international police training and assistance programs, particularly those of the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
They have invested money in establishing koban-style community policing programs in several countries, including Indonesia, Brazil, and Honduras.
A: I hope there will be a lot of Kobans in the world.
B:Well, Kobans played an important role in the Japanese police system over decades.
But one of the issues recognized in the last several years was the existence of aki-koban, that is to say, un-manned stations, because the number of officers is not enough.
We should solve this problem as fast as we can.
A:Look, there are three people in this Koban. I feel at ease.
B:Yes, the Koban is really important for local peace.
A:I learned much about the Koban today, … but, why do you know so well about Kobans？
B:Because … oh, hi dad! are you now at work?
A:I see why.