Tokyo’s Riot Police Celebrate 70th Anniversary

May 24, 2018

Tokyo- Tokyo police held an annual parade on Thursday of its riot police force at the Meijijingu Gaien park in Shinjuku Ward, with this year marking the 70th anniversary of the force's establishment.

Some 1,800 people, including riot police officers, who are engaged in security and disaster relief activities, took part in the event.

The Metropolitan Police Department plans to introduce new measures, including the creation of a new squad handling terrorist attacks from the sea, for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The parade included members of a riot squad wearing their uniform and equipped with helmets and shields, a women-only squad and a team dispatched overseas for disaster relief missions.

The event also featured chemical defense squad members clad in protective gear and an antifirearms squad equipped with submachine guns, as well as 80 vehicles, such as water trucks, and eight guard dogs.

After the parade, MPD Superintendent-General Naomasa Yoshida told the members that he hopes they will continue to work to preserve the riot police's history and tradition, while incorporating new ideas.

The MPD's riot police was established in 1948 as a reserve corps to handle matters including a string of labor disputes that occurred in the turbulent period after World War II.

It now mainly carries out security, counterterrorism and disaster relief activities. Jiji Press