Japan’s police faced a record number of discipline cases last year. The National Police Agency revealed that 337 personnel were disciplined in 2023. This is the highest number in a decade. The scale of the problem shocked many. On January 26, The Mainichi newspaper called the number of incidents “hard to believe.” It also urged senior police management to “rebuild the organisation.” The paper emphasized that this is not just a simple “lapse in discipline.” It said there is serious organisational dysfunction causing long-lasting damage. Shinichi Ishizuka, founder of the Tokyo-based Criminal Justice Future think tank, said the police are facing many institutional challenges. He told This Week in Asia, “In some of these cases we see corruption and officers taking payments; in others, there are officers who want to make a name for themselves and go too far.” The growing number of scandals is troubling Japanese prefectural police forces. Experts agree urgent reforms are needed to restore trust and discipline within Japan’s police.