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The Japanese Police System Today: A Comparative Study. By L. CRAIG PARKER, JR. Armonk, N.Y.: M. E. Sharpe, 2001. 284 pp. $22.95 (paper); $58.95 (cloth).
L. Craig Parker's review of the Japanese police system is an important contribution to the otherwise thin literature of explicitly comparative police system studies. Although I have some problems with several of Parker's arguments, I believe this text would be more than adequate for anyone wishing to gain a basic understanding of the Japanese police.
Parker states that the primary purpose of his book is to "explore the role of the police in community relations in Japan. . ." (p. 4). He has conducted direct field observations of various elements of Japanese police organizations on two occasions, once in 1980 and again in 1999. That is quite a span of years and history, from bubbling wealth to burst bubble, but Parker does a creditable job of linking these two eras without confusing us.
Parker's text is notable for its breadth of coverage. He offers an excellent methodological review which should be required reading for students expecting to do fieldwork in Japan. Additionally, among his important chapters are a history of the Japanese police, an examination of the koban (police box) system and its place in...