National Public Safety Commission (Japan)
By the 1880s, the police had developed into a nationwide instrument of government control, providing support for local leaders and enforcing public morality.The centralized police system steadily acquired responsibilities, until it controlled almost all aspects of daily life, including fire prevention and mediation of labor disputes.Special Higher Police were created to regulate the content of motion pictures, political meetings, and election campaigns.About 1,600 independent municipal forces were established in cities, towns, and villages with 5,000 inhabitants or more, and a National Rural Police was organized by prefecture.The revised Police Law of 1954, still in effect in the 1990s, preserves some strong points of the postwar system, particularly measures ensuring civilian control and political neutrality, while allowing for increased centralization.