<figure id="attachment_460712" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-460712" style="width: 6000px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="7a713951"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/03/48dc6d1da52d4fa5a5069fad7e8389e3.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-460712" class="wp-caption-text">The R33 Skyline GT-R patrol car of the Kanagawa Prefectural Police&#8217;s 2-kosoku unit was introduced in 1998 at prefectural expense and is still in service. It is used in the Hakone Ekiden (relay relay race) and other events in the prefecture, and can be considered the face of the 2-koso unit.</figcaption></figure>
<h3> The Kanagawa Prefectural Police&#8217;s own crackdowns have been the norm for more than 30 years.</h3>
<p> The Kanagawa Prefectural Police have been involved in scandals for more than 30 years. This time, a series of surprising revelations were made at the scene of a traffic crackdown.</p>
<p> The creation and use of false sealed official documents, such as writing a longer distance than the actual distance followed on a traffic ticket, came to light, and of the seven members of the 2nd Company, 4th Platoon, 2nd Traffic Cavalry Unit, 4th Chigasaki Station, a sergeant in his 40s was dismissed from the force on disciplinary grounds, six others were suspended or reduced in pay, and 24 officers in all were subject to disciplinary action. In all, 24 members of the prefectural police force were subject to disciplinary action.</p>
<p> Reflecting once again on this incident, we would like to introduce the Kanagawa Prefectural Police&#8217;s long-standing tradition of bad policing methods.</p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<p> More than 2,700 traffic violations were canceled in this case. The scene of the incident was the Odawara-Atsugi Road, or &#8220;Oda Atsu,&#8221; which has long been a famous crackdown mecca among residents of Kanagawa Prefecture and professional drivers.</p>
<p> It is a 30-km long toll road of the same standard as an expressway, but with a speed limit of 70 kilometers per hour. The Chigasaki branch of the aforementioned 2-kosoku (2-kosoku) has jurisdiction over Odaatsu, where speeding and other violations are cracked down on day and night.</p>
<p> The Chigasaki branch of the Kanagawa Prefectural Police, which has jurisdiction over the Odatsushi Road, has traditionally been involved in its own crackdowns, not only on this road, but also on other roads.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> One of them said, &#8220;I accelerated when the car behind me was driving too fast, and I was caught speeding by an undercover patrol car.&#8221;</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I was caught speeding by an undercover patrol car when I accelerated after a car behind me was aggrieved.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> He was cited for accelerating in the merging lane at the speed of the main road.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> &#8220;A police car was driving at over 100 kilometers per hour without sounding its siren or turning on its red lights.&#8221;</span></p>
<p> These are all the heartbreaking cries of drivers who have been arrested or witnessed such incidents in the past by the Kanagawa Prefectural Police&#8217;s police patrols and high-speed patrols.</p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<p> And regardless of make or model, Kanagawa Prefectural Police undercover patrol cars and black-and-white patrol cars have traditionally been specially modified to flash only their front warning lights. Originally, the front warning lights and the red and reversing warning lights were designed to flash together at the touch of a button, but the Kanagawa Prefectural Police&#8217;s front warning lights were modified to be able to flash independently, known as &#8220;Kanagawa specifications.</p>
<p> One of the reasons for the discontinuation of the system in the spring of 2010 was that Toyota was manufacturing traffic control patrol cars and undercover patrol cars at the time, and the siren and red lights were also manufactured by Toyota, which made it impossible to produce Kanagawa-spec cars.</p>
<p> Originally, such a specification that allowed only the front warning lights to flash on and off was limited to police vehicles used to guard and protect members of the royal family and the prime minister, and these vehicles are still in use at police headquarters throughout Japan.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Police crackdowns in the prefecture were insidious."></div>
<h3>They did exactly what they wanted.&#8221;</h3>
<p> The reason why the Kanagawa Prefectural Police insisted on front warning lights is because the requirement to turn on red lights is stipulated in the speeding crackdown.</p>
<p> Article 14 of the Road Traffic Law Enforcement Order states, &#8220;Motor vehicles prescribed in Paragraph 1 of the preceding article shall sound their sirens and turn on their red warning lights when they are operated for emergency business. However, in the case where a police vehicle is policing a vehicle or streetcar violating the provisions of Article 22 of the Act, the siren shall not be required to be sounded if deemed particularly necessary&#8221;.</p>
<p> As for crackdowns on speeding, police bylaws stipulate that red lights shall be turned on, vehicles shall be spaced 50 meters apart on general roads and at least 100 meters apart on highways, vehicles shall be followed for at least 200 meters to measure speed, red lights shall be turned on, and sirens shall be blown when a violation is confirmed and an arrest made. The Kanagawa Prefectural Police, however, have not been able to measure the speed of vehicles.</p>
<p> However, the Kanagawa Prefectural Police, in addition to the extremely short distance between the speed measurement and the arrest, did not turn on the red light on the roof, but only flashed the front warning light. This made it difficult for violators and other vehicles to notice, and made it easier for enforcement officers to carry out their activities.</p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<p> We were able to talk to a man who runs a private cab business in Yokohama about the crackdown in the prefecture.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I think it was about 20 years ago,&#8221; he said, &#8220;I was measured on the Hodogaya Bypass using only my front warning lights. I slowed down and got away with it, but an undercover driver in a Cedric yelled at me with a microphone, &#8216;This is the 80 limit! I remember that I was only given a warning by an undercover driver in a Cedric who shouted at me with a microphone, &#8220;This is the 80 limit! If it had been Odawatto, I would have been completely out.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I saw an undercover driving on the Daisan Keihin and Tomei.</span><span class="strongInContent"> I saw it. In the days when there were no driver&#8217;s recorders, I thought that it was exactly what they wanted to do. The Yokohane line and especially the Bay Bridge were also hunting grounds.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I heard a story of a person who was caught who was forced to sign a document saying that his license would be suspended or he would be arrested if he drove at this speed, so he was forced to sign in such a way that his license would not be revoked this time. Anyway, it was an insidious way of doing things. They were doing the kind of policing I told you about in the &#8217;90s, so they must have been doing it for about 30 years.&#8217;</span></p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<p> In June &#8217;13, then National Public Safety Commission Chairman Keiji Furuya, a member of the House of Representatives, commented on the traffic crackdown, saying, &#8220;It is questionable to crack down on a straight road with good visibility and little possibility of pedestrians being present, at about 20 km over the speed limit. The incident uncovered this time is nothing but a crackdown for the sake of crackdown.</p>
<p> Some people have suggested that the Kanagawa Prefectural Police, which has a strong sense of rivalry with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, may be engaging in inappropriate policing within the department in order to maintain a high arrest rate and other standards.</p>
<p> While some police officers are still dedicated to their duties, the incident has also shaken confidence in the speeding crackdowns of other prefectural police departments. Although the police have restored violation points and refunded penalties, many drivers have been demoted from their so-called gold licenses and have had their insurance grades changed.</p>
<p> About 20 years ago, when drive recorders were not widely used in Japan, it was common practice in Russia and other countries where police officers were corrupt for drivers to wear them for defense. Ironically, drive recorders became an item that uncovered illegal crackdowns by police officers in Japan. The road to restoring confidence in traffic policing is far from over.</p>
<figure id="attachment_460713" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-460713" style="width: 2163px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="4431cc54"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/03/5692c004392dccb549e36284d64a4246.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-460713" class="wp-caption-text"> A police car at the Chigasaki branch of the 2 Kouki police station. There were many &#8220;Kanagawa-spec&#8221; cars that used only the front warning lights. This function has now been discontinued.</figcaption></figure>


 Takuma Arimura

 The Kanagawa Prefectural Police have been involved in a series of scandals that have led some to ask, "The Kanagawa Prefectural Police again? This time, a series of startling revelations were made at a traffic stop. We would like to introduce the Kanagawa Prefectural Police's long-standing tradition of bad policing methods.

The Kanagawa Prefectural Police “did whatever they wanted” involving numerous ordinary drivers in their “bogged-down crackdown.

Access Ranking