What is a koban? Japan's police boxes

A koban (交番, kōban) is a small neighbourhood police box where officers from the local police station are on duty. Our map of Japan has 6,270 koban, 5,469 chūzai-sho (residential police posts) and 1,340 police stations. You can walk in without an appointment.

What you can do at a koban

Report a crime or an accident. Hand in, or ask about, lost property. Ask the way. Ask for help when you feel unsafe.

The officers may be out on patrol. If nobody is there and it is urgent, call 110.

Koban and chūzai-sho

A koban is in towns and cities, and officers work there in shifts. A chūzai-sho (駐在所) is a police post, mostly in the countryside, where an officer lives with the family and looks after the area.

How to ask for it in Japanese

Police box: 交番 (kōban). Where is the police box? 交番はどこですか (Kōban wa doko desu ka).

Is a koban open 24 hours?

Officers work at a koban in shifts, but it can be empty while they are on patrol or at an incident. If it is urgent, call 110.

Koban and hashutsujo

They are the same thing. The koban system began in Tokyo in 1874. The official name was hashutsujo (派出所) for many years and was changed back to koban in July 1994 (Tokyo Metropolitan Police).

Find from where I am