Police Box

Are there “police boxes” in your country?

I have never seen a police box in America.  I don’t think that there are any there.
But, thanks to the internet, I’ve learned that the UK has them.

A police box in England. Quite different from Japan’s 交番 (police boxes)!

The police boxes in England, according to what I read, are very small and simple. Just a phone that people can use to contact a “real” police station, and a small desk and a first-aid kit.
They aren’t manned by a police officer…just a way for people to contact the police before cell-phones became an item carried by everyone.

These are very different from the 交番 (police boxes (called “Ko-ban” in Japanese)) in Japan!

That particular police box in eastern Tokyo has actually become semi-famous because of a popular manga / anime.

In Japan, 交番 (police boxes) are an important and helpful part of every neighborhood in Japan.  They can be seen all around Japan…especially near train stations and many major intersections.  But there are also 交番 (police boxes) at many seemingly random places too.

Unlike the ones in Europe, Japanese 交番 (police boxes) are always staffed by at least one police officer (busy areas have bigger police boxes with more officers) at all times of day and night.
The officers stationed at them make periodic patrols around the neighborhood…so small 交番 (police boxes) that only have one officer will be unmanned during those brief periods – but there will be a sign in the window that says 「パトロール中です。」 (“On patrol“).

交番 (police boxes) in Japan are probably most commonly used by the public for asking for directions. This is no problem. If you’re lost while in Japan, you can go into a 交番 (police box) and ask for directions. The officers stationed there are very knowledgeable about the neighborhood and it’s part of their duties to help people find their way.
Other helpful services provided by 交番 (police boxes) include: “Lost and Found” … if you find some misplaced property (train pass, keys, wallet, cell-phone, etc) or if you’ve lost something, go to a 交番 (police boxes) for help.
Also, of course, they are police officers, so crimes or other emergencies can be reported there.

There are some koban in Japan that are designed to resemble an owl.

Ikebukuro, Tokyo has a ‘koban’ that looks like an owl because of a play-on-words in Japanese (Ikebukuro doesn’t mean “owl”, but the name sounds like some type of an owl in Japanese).

A koban near Chiba train station looks like an owl, too. It’s eye light up at night.

A koban in Shibuya, Tokyo looks like an owl, too.

Please, by all means, leave a comment in this post and tell about your impressions / experiences with police boxes in Japan and/or other countries!

Aboin finally became a police dog

From the 毎日新聞 (Mainichi (Japanese) Newspaper)…

警察犬：「アボイン」３度目の挑戦で合格

警察犬を目指しなから２年連続で不合格だったおじさん犬「アボイン」が、埼玉県警の登用試験に合格した。訓練士の佐藤加津美さん(３０)は「不合格が続いたのでほっとした。立派な警察犬に育ってほしい」と話す。

アボインはジャーマンシェパードの７歳の雄で人間なら４０～５０歳。さいたま市内で先月あった「嘱託警察犬審査会」では、佐藤さんの「伏せ」の指示にすぐに従わない場面もあった。「(あがり性という)アボの悪い癖」が出たが、合格率７割の関門を突破した。

佐藤さんのよると、今月１２日に合格の連絡を受けた。任期は１年で、６月１日から要人警護や犯人確保に出動する「警戒犬」として”勤務”する。

Can you understand that article?

It says:

“Aboin” passed the police dog exam after three attempts

An aging dog named Aboin finally passed the exam to become a police dog with the Saitama (Japan) Police Force after having failed the annual exam twice before.

His 30 year old trainer, Katsumi Sato, said “I’m relieved he finally passed. I want him to become a successful police dog.”

Aboin is a seven year old male German Sheppard, which would equal about 40-50 years old in human age.

At one point in the exam, Aboin didn’t respond promptly to the “Lie down” command.

Ms. Sato said “He has a bad habit of getting over-excited and distracted.”

Regardless, Aboin still managed to passed the test (which has a 70% success rate)

Ms. Sato was notified that Aboin is to report to duty on June 1 for a one-year contract in which he will be responsible for helping to guard VIPs and catch criminals.

(The photo was taken at 10:30AM yesterday at the police dog training camp in Saitama. Ms. Sato said “Good luck, Abo”)

News summary

A few items that were in the news recently:

• Takamiyama, the first foreign sumo wrestler in Japan (he was Hawaiian (he’s become a naturalized Japanese years ago, though)), will retire this June.He’s already retired from wrestling about 25 years ago, but he has his own sumo stable (a training ring and dormitory for a group of wrestlers) and he will turn 65 years old this June, so he’s planning to completely retire from sumo next month.
• 自由の女神像 (The Statue Of Liberty) in New York City had been off-limits to tourists since the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks…but it has recently been reopened and now tourists can go all the way to the top again for the first time in nearly eight years.
• North Korea tested nuclear weapons on last Monday and Tuesday. As a result, the Peace Clock in 広島 (Hiroshima, Japan) that counts the number of days that there has been no nuclear testing in the world had to be reset back to “00001”.

• A police officer in France was arrested after he cut of the genitals of his cheating wife’s boyfriend with a box-cutter knife.
• A woman was caught shoplifting from a Wal-Mart store in America and in an attempt to escape, she threw her infant child at the store’s security guards. Almost killing the baby.