u/UltraGwyl

As China enters the 21st century, the police with a higher budget wants to replace the previously issued Type 54 and 77 pistols. Instead of following the military's footsteps, they decided to develop their own service pistol. The requirement of this pistol is that it prevents overpenetration, allows officers to subdue the criminal without killing them with one shot within 50m and that it can be used for both deadly force and riot control. With that, in 2005 Norinco successfully decide this 9mm revolver and manufacture began in 2008.

The revolver is chambered with a newly designed proprietary 9mm ammunition (not 9x19 parabellum) based on the .38 special with a reduced powder load. In addition, a rubber bullet variant is also introduced. An additional safety is also mounted above the cylinder release.

There are however, several weaknesses to this pistol, namely the cartridge fired is too weak. It is said that there is a running joke amongst the Chinese police that an officer shot a fleeing robber in the ass with this revolver and the robber immediately picked up speed afterwards. As a result, the Chinese named this revolver "the gun of kindness" and "the gun of peace"

Fortunately, this revolver is only meant for beat cops, any units that is expected to do serious shooting will use the Type 92 pistol. Swat teams in certain places like Xinjiang issues Glock 17 Gen4.

It should also be noted there is no universal rule on what firearms are used or even if firearms will be issued across the country. A recent police reality show set in Changsha shows some officers using Type 77 pistols. In 2014, Shanghai police began issuing this revolver to all beat cops and to prevent the revolver from being taken, the officer is required to keep his hand on the holster at all times. The rule may be abolished now.

As China enters the 21st century, the police with a higher budget wants to replace the previously issued Type 54 and 77 pistols. Instead of following the military's footsteps, they decided to develop their own service pistol. The requirement of this pistol is that it prevents overpenetration, allows officers to subdue the criminal without killing them with one shot within 50m and that it can be used for both deadly force and riot control. With that, in 2005 Norinco successfully decide this 9mm revolver and manufacture began in 2008.

The revolver is chambered with a newly designed proprietary 9mm ammunition (not 9x19 parabellum) based on the .38 special with a reduced powder load. In addition, a rubber bullet variant is also introduced. An additional safety is also mounted above the cylinder release.

There are however, several weaknesses to this pistol, namely the cartridge fired is too weak. It is said that there is a running joke amongst the Chinese police that an officer shot a fleeing robber in the ass with this revolver and the robber immediately picked up speed afterwards. As a result, the Chinese named this revolver "the gun of kindness" and "the gun of peace"

Fortunately, this revolver is only meant for beat cops, any units that is expected to do serious shooting will use the Type 92 pistol. Swat teams in certain places like Xinjiang issues Glock 17 Gen4.

It should also be noted there is no universal rule on what firearms are used or even if firearms will be issued across the country. A recent police reality show set in Changsha shows some officers using Type 77 pistols. In 2014, Shanghai police began issuing this revolver to all beat cops and to prevent the revolver from being taken, the officer is required to keep his hand on the holster at all times. The rule may be abolished now.

During the 1960s, Japan found itself being embroiled in massive riots organized by the New Leftists, especially during the Tokyo University Yasuda Hall siege in 1969. At the time, police armoured vehicles were just buses fitted with 2 to 3mm thick steel plates, and they were inadequate against molotov cocktails and hunting rifle fire. As a result, a specially designed armoured vehicle was sought and the F3 was put into service.

The exterior of the SSV was designed to prevent rioters from climbing it and plates were fitted to protect the tires. The SSV also has a mounted water cannon with a 1.5 ton water tank and can carry 14 officers.

It's best known deployment was during the Asama Lodge Incident in Nagano Prefecture, one of the most famous hostage incidents in Japan.

In 2013, in response to the the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, the National Police Agency purchased 2 radiation protection vehicles to strengthen the police's ability to operate in irradiated zones. One such vehicle was given to the Fukushima Prefectural Police to assist in operations within the damaged power plant, the other one was given to the Metropolitan Police Department 4th Riot Police Unit in case of a nuclear attack on the capital.

In 2023, after a series of mass-stabbings, the South Korean government began procurement of the STRV9 less lethal revolver for frontline officers.

The arming of ROK police officers is quite interesting. After the democratization of Korea, to limit the power of police, its firearms and use of force powers are severely weakened and limited. As a result, only 44% of all police officers are armed. For those that are armed, a S&W M60 revolver is issued (picture 2 and 3) The hammer rests on a empty chamber, the next round is a blank followed by three rounds of .38 ball ammo, however, a veteran police officer have stated if they expect to open fire they will rotate the cylinder before hand to skip the blank round.

The STRV9 revolver will follow the same loading pattern with a blank followed by 5 less lethal rounds that penetrates 6 cm of the human body. If needed, lethal 9mm rounds can be fired. The revolver also houses a smart module similar to what the new Axon tasers have that record time and place of firing, ammo used and shooting angle etc. A safety is also mounted on the opposite side of the cylinder release. It is expected that every police officers will be armed with this by 2029.

Before the arrival of the deadline for the soldiers to storm the prison, a cooler minded prisoner leader, Barrie MacKenzie was able to release all the hostages they had taken in exchange for not getting beat up after surrendering. Once the news spread, the prisoners became convinced that the troops would just simply come in and kill all of them. As a result, hundreds of prisoners panicked and rushed to the front gate to surrender. Soldiers have to fire warning shots to maintain order.

The prisoners were immediately beaten all bloody when they were transferred to the nearby Millhaven Institution after the riot.

On December 21, 2001, a communications station operated by the Defence Intelligence Headquarters detected a sus trawler in its waters. The Japan Coast Guard was ordered to intercept the boat and dispatched 4 patrol vessels. Once the vessels approached and attempted a boarding, they came under fire from the trawler with the weapons shown in the pictures. In self-defence, the patrol vessels unleashed their mounted JM61-RFS cannons (picture 5) while the crew fired their Type 64 7.62 mm rifles upon the trawler. The trawler was scuttled after six hours of firefight but not before transmitting their last message, "Party, this child will be your loyal subject forever! Manse!"

Japanese authorities was able to salvage the wreck of the ship in 2003 and determined that it is a spy ship from North Korea disguised as a Chinese or Japanese fishing trawler. In the wreck, they were able to seize a ZPU-2 mounted on the stern (picture 1), a 82mm recoil-less rifle, 2 9K310 Igla MANPADS (picture 2), 2 RPG-7s, 2 Type 82 machine guns (picture 3), and 4 AKS-74s or its North Korean variant Type 88-1 rifles (picture 4) The seized weapons along with the wreckage of the ship are now on display in the Yokohama Maritime Disaster Prevention Base. Picture 6 shows the bridge of the JCG patrol ship Amami on display in the Japan Coast Guard Musuem in Hiroshima. The bridge was heavily damaged by when the North Korean shot at it. The ship was not armoured and three crew members were injured as a result.

In 2023, after a series of mass-stabbings, the South Korean government began procurement of the STRV9 less lethal revolver for frontline officers.

The arming of ROK police officers is quite interesting. After the democratization of Korea, to limit the power of police, its firearms and use of force powers are severely weakened and limited. As a result, only 44% of all police officers are armed. For those that are armed, a S&W M60 revolver is issued (picture 2 and 3) The hammer rests on a empty chamber, the next round is a blank followed by three rounds of .38 ball ammo, however, a veteran police officer have stated if they expect to open fire they will rotate the cylinder before hand to skip the blank round.

The STRV9 revolver will follow the same loading pattern with a blank followed by 5 less lethal rounds that penetrates 6 cm of the human body. If needed, lethal 9mm rounds can be used. The revolver also houses a smart module similar to what the new Axon tasers have that record time and place of firing, ammo used and shooting angle etc. It is expected that every police officers will be armed with this by 2029.

In January 2022, a 66 year old man's 98 year old mother passed away at home. His mother was being cared for by a home clinic provider before her death and so the man was furious. He then called the clinical provider, who sent a doctor, a physical therapist and two medical counsellors to meet him at his house (picture 2, taken after the incident) The suspect insisted that the doctor can resuscitate his mother within 72 hours of her death, which the doctor rejected. The suspect then asked the medical team to light some incense to pay respect to his mother. As they were doing so, the suspect loaded a hunting shotgun and shot the doctor and the therapist, a counsellor tried to take the gun but was pepper-sprayed. With the exception of the doctor, the entire team was able to flee the house and report the incident to the local police station.

After receiving the report, Saitama Prefectural Police deployed 359 officers to surround the house and began negotiations with the suspect. The police was not aware of how serious the doctor was wounded and thus decided to try to negotiate for a peaceful surrender. Negotiations broke down as the suspect's mental health deteriorated and after 11 hours since the siege began, the STS stormed the house with a stun grenade and arrested the suspect without firing a shot.

Tragically, the doctor was too critically injured and was found to be dead when police entered the house. The suspect was charged with murder and several counts of attempted murder and was sentenced to life in prison.

The STS is a hostage rescue unit formed by detectives under the Criminal Investigation Bureau of the police headquarters. Most police forces have a similar unit with a wide range of names but for the majority of them it is called the Special Investigation Team (SIT) It is responsible for dealing with barricaded subjects and non terrorism related hostage situations. Unlike their SAT counterparts, their primary weapon are Beretta pistols and MP5SFK are available should more firepower is needed. (picture 3, the officer on the right, they are from the MPD SIT deployed on mutual aid for this siege)

In recent years, the number of bear attacks had risen significantly in Japan, especially in the comparatively more rural Northeast region, with the Akita Prefecture being one of the worst affected prefectures. After several run-in with bears, the APP began issuing thick armour, helmets with face shields and bear sprays to defend against bears. It should be noted that at the time of demonstration, police officers were forbidden from shooting bears. Dealing with bear threats is traditionally the duty of the local municipality, which often has a hunting association. Only licensed hunters of the association, the only group of civilians allowed to own firearms can shoot them.

However, owning a firearm has a lot of bureaucratic red tape which discourages young people from getting into the process, not to mention the compensation for hunters who responded to a call-out is extremely low. Bureaucratic red tape once again also forbid mutual-aid amongst hunting associations. As a result, there are hunter shortages in many places in Japan.

In 2025, the National Police Agency authorized prefectural police forces to shoot the bears if a hunter is unavailable. As a result, APP and the neighbouring Iwate Prefectural Police formed a "Bear Control Project Team" under their Anti-Firearms Squad (Japanese equivalent of a swat team in a regular suburb department) A squad consists of four officers, including two shooters armed with hunting rifles, the squad commander and a liaison officer with the local municipal government.

Unfortunately, the situation has not improved with bears sighting reported in many prefectures including the outskirts of Tokyo.

On June 21, 1995, a 53 year old man hijacked ANA Flight 857 when the plane was flying over northeast Japan, taking 365 people onboard hostage with a bomb, a plastic bag holding liquid sarin and a screwdriver. The suspect claimed to be a member of the cult Aum Shinrikyo, which just conducted the Tokyo subway sarin attack three months prior. Once the plane landed in the Hakodate Airport, he demanded that the leader of the cult, Asahara Shoko to be released and the plane refuelled to fly to the Haneda Airport. Once the news broke, the National Police Agency mobilized all 47 prefectural police forces across the entire country to check the passenger's list to determine who the hijacker was, supported by passengers who were able to secretly communicate with the police, they soon zeroed in on their suspect, who was a bank employee placed on leave due to mental issues. Aum Shinrikyo representatives also released a statement stating the hijacking had nothing to do with them.

To deal with the hijacking, the Metropolitan Police Department Special Armed Police (picture 2, officers in the background near the black structure under the aircraft) from Tokyo, one of two only special forces unit in Japan (only Osaka Prefectural Police has a special forces unit at the time) was flown into Hakodate by the JASDF to retake the aircraft, but in the end it was decided that Hokkaido riot police (picture 3) would storm the aircraft while the SAP would provide breaching support. Overnight, Hokkaido Prefectural Police brass and the SAP commander formulated an assault plan, and received approval from the National Police Agency and green light to attack from the Prime Minister. At 3:39 a.m. on June 22, riot police armed with batons and revolvers, ascended on the ladders, while SAP officers threw the aircraft doors open. The officers rushed in from the three left side doors, the hijacker was at the L1 door when they entered, he immediately ran towards the back of the aircraft but saw the officers rushing in from the2 door, he turned back again and was subdued by a baton strike.

The bomb was discovered to be made of clay and the bag of sarin was in fact, water. The hijacker was arrested and sentenced to 8 years of prison by the Hakodate District Court, an appeal to the Sapporo High Court would lengthen it to ten years. ANA filed a civil lawsuit against the hijacker and was awarded 53 million yen for damages. The bank he worked for formally fired him and printed an apology notice on every single newspapers in Japan and apologized once again at its shareholders meetings a couple days later.

This operation is revolutionary in many aspects in the Japan police history. It is the first and only time the police stormed a hijacked aircraft and the existence of a police special forces unit was also publicized for the first time since its formation in 1977. The next year, the NPA announced that Tokyo and Osaka police would reform their special forces unit into the Special Assault Team, (Japanese equivalent to the FBI HRT). In addition, police forces of Hokkaido, Chiba, Kanagawa, Aichi, Fukuoka and Okinawa prefectures were authorized to form their SATs as well, bringing it to 8 teams covering the entire country.

This picture is taken from a press interview after a massive robbery at a majong parlour in Hong Kong. The robbers, hailing from China were armed with the chinese reproduction version, the Type 82, Type 56s and grenades, killing two customers there.

RHKP officers at the time were armed with S&W M10s, with six additional rounds issued in a small plastic zip lock bag, and Remington 870 shotguns loaded with birdshot shells. They were massively outgunned and the robbers were able to hijack a bus and escape. After the incident, the RHKP swapped the M10 for the heavy barrel version to fire +p hollow point rounds and each officer received a HKS speedloader for the extra rounds, the birdshot shells were replaced with buckshot, and the MP5SFA2 were also issued. This setup remains in use to this day for officers that are in non-special forces units that may need heavier firepower. (Pictures 2-4 are actual HK police issued firearms)

The suspect is an 86 year old man who first set fire to his apartment, then he shot and injured a doctor and a patient with a pistol in a nearby hospital. He fled to the post office and took two female employees hostage. One was released and another was able to escape by herself. RATS later breached the post office alongside the Special Tactical Section (the tactical unit formed by detectives) and arrested the man.

Note the officer on the right hand side seems to be holding a 5.56mm rifle. It is possibly the HK416A5 as the Japanese were able to find a bid sheet of the National Police Agency purchasing 5.56 ammo from the HK distributor in Japan, thus leading to speculation that HK416s are also purchased.

Law enforcement in Japan rarely display their gear to the public. As a result, public exercises and appearances are the only way to tell what equipment they are using. Even so, 5.56 rifles never made an appearance despite the NPA stated that officers are issued with it. This may be one of the first pictures available that shows a tactical police officer in Japan using a 5.56 rifle instead of a MP5.