| Unit Name: | National Police Reserve (NPR) |
| Native Name: | Japanese: 警察予備隊 |
| Start Date: | 10 August 1950 |
| End Date: | 1 July 1954 |
| Country: |  Japan |
| Size: | 75,000 – 110,000 |
| Command Structure: | National Safety Agency, Prime Minister's Office |
| Type: | Gendarmerie |
| Role: | Anti-tank warfare Border control Cold-weather warfare Counterinsurgency Counterintelligence Crowd control Force protection Forward observer HUMINT Indirect fire Intelligence assessment Internal security Jungle warfare Law enforcement Patrolling Raiding Reconnaissance Riot control Urban warfare |
| Garrison: | Camp Etchūjima, Kōtō, Tokyo |
| Notable Commanders: | Senior Superintendent Keizō Hayashi |
| Identification Symbol 2 Label: | Flag |
The, or NPR, was a lightly armed national police force established in August 1950 during the Allied occupation of Japan. In October 1952, it was expanded to 110,000 men and renamed as the . On July 1, 1954, it was reorganized as the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF).
On the outbreak of the Korean War, many units of the United States Armed Forces stationed in Japan were transferred to South Korea for combat, and Japan was perceived as lacking defenses. Encouraged by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (GHQ), the Japanese government in 1950 authorized the establishment of NPR, consisting of 75,000 men equipped with light infantry weapons. Personnel affairs of the NPR was taken charge of by GHQ's Government Section (GS) under Brigadier General Courtney Whitney while the efforts to establish and train the force was made by Civil Affairs Section Annex (CASA) under Major General Whitfield P. Shepard.
Given the legal status of police, the National Police Reserve was tasked with the duty to maintain public security under special conditions according to the National Police Reserve Order (Cabinet Order No. 260, 1950), while in terms of unit formation and equipment, it was a de facto military force modeled after the United States Army.
In October 1952, the NPR was expanded to 110,000 men and renamed as the National Safety Force (NSF).
On July 1, 1954, after the 1954 Self-Defense Forces Act [Act No. 165 of 1954] the National Security Board was reorganized as the Defense Agency, and the National Security Force was reorganized as the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (postwar army branch of Japan), while the Coastal Safety Force (waterborne counterpart of the NPR) was reorganized as the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (postwar naval branch of Japan).
| NPR ranks | equivalent ranks | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| in Japanese | English translations | National Safety Force ranks | Army/JGSDF ranks | |
| Officers | Senior Superintendent (serving as Superintendent General of the National Police Reserve) (Wearing three star rank insignia[2]) | Lieutenant General | ||
| Senior Superintendent (Wearing two star rank insignia) | ||||
| Assistant Senior Superintendent | Major General | |||
| Superintendent First Class | Colonel | |||
| Superintendent Second Class | Lieutenant Colonel | |||
| Senior Inspector | Major | |||
| Inspector First Class | Captain | |||
| Inspector Second Class | First lieutenant | |||
| - | - | [3] | Second lieutenant | |
| Sub-officers | Assistant Inspector First Class | Master Sergeant | ||
| Assistant Inspector Second Class | Sergeant First Class | |||
| Assistant Inspector Third Class | Sergeant | |||
| Patrolmen | Senior Patrolman | Leading Private | ||
| Patrolman First Class | Private First Class | |||
| Patrolman Second Class | Private | |||
NotesReferences
. Japanese: 自衛隊の階級 . Ranks of the JSDF . ja:平成16年版 防衛白書 . Defense of Japan 2004 . 防衛庁 . Ministry of Defense (Japan) . http://www.clearing.mod.go.jp/hakusho_data/2004/2004/pdf/16510000.pdf . 2004 . 2018-04-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130727224810/http://www.clearing.mod.go.jp/hakusho_data/2004/2004/pdf/16510000.pdf . 2013-07-27.