著者

前野 育三

出版者

関西学院大学

雑誌

法と政治 (ISSN:02880709)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.41, no.4, pp.707-741, 1990-12-20

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1. The daily life of citizens and the police 1) Public peace-its two aspects The duty of the police is to maintain the safety of the life, body and property of people. This is called "chian (public-peace)" in Japanese. The Japanese word "chian" is used in two meanings. A first is the safety of citizens' life. A second is to preserve a political order that the governing classes request. Activities of the police are concerned in both the sides, as the word "chian" has two meanings mentioned above. The police has so big an authority and equipment that democratic control is important. 2) Characteristics of the Japanese police Many people point out that the Japanese police conciders it important to stick to citizens, and esteem service activities to a citizen as characteristics of the Japanese police. Activities of police box (koban) in Japan are pointed out as significant by Walter L. Ames and David H. Bayley. But the esteem of the service activities is the only one side of the Japanese police. It has a political character in another side. 3) The police as a power organization We can not imagine a modern society without police. It is expected that the police system expands still more. The expansion of the police system easily invites the expansion of abuse of the police power. It will be adequate to distinguish the abuse of the power in the process of the legitimate police activity and the political police activity. 2. The abuse of the police power 1) Juvenile police The Juvenile law has a policy to restrain the police power to the minimum. However, juvenile police activities are spreading to the wide range of juvenile "protection", today. And they produce numerous human right infringement cases in the process of the "protection" on one hand and the investigation on the other hand. 2) Traffic police It is the traffic police division that has the closest relation with citizens. It gives rise to many cases where an ordinary nonpolitical citizen has antipathy to the police. 3) Detective police The four cases that changed from capital punishment sentence to acquittal with a review continued. They showed that a innocent person could be convicted to a capital punishment. It is obvious that courts are finally responsable for these error convictions. But the original cause is found in a process of an investigation on the part of police. Illegalities and defects of an investigation bring forth error conviction. Especially an evil of an overestimating a confession in investigation must be pointed out. It is admitted in Japan that a police detention cell is a substitute for a jail. It is a hotbed of false confessions. 4) Self-righteous attitude of the police We observed infringements of human rights by police in various aspects. The biggest problem is the self-righteous attitude of the police whose infringements are pointed out. The police protects a policeman who infringes human rights and it does not accept criticism from the outside. It is even hostile to a citizen that protests against the infringement. Such an attitude of the police is generated from the lack of respect for human right and citizen sense. The insufficiency of the inspection within the police organization encourages it. And the fact that the police is an especially powerful organization makes it possible. 3. Political police "Public safety" is easily changed to the maintenance of a political profit of a particular governing class. The political police can not be restricted to activities of one division. The political police watches out for the political activities including meeting/association of citizens. Such activities can not be justified under the Constitution that secures people sovereignty principle and a basic human right. A watchout activity of the political police is mainly directed to a labor union and a reformist party. The Japanese police as a whole has a trait peculiar to the political police. 4. Emphasis on the community relations The emphasis on the commun