The Japanese Police State

This is a specialized study of the organization, ideology and activities of the Japanese Special Higher Police, the Tokko, notorious in pre-war and war-time years for its harassment of opponents of the government. Within a comparative framework, this book explains the elements of Tokko brutality and abuses of authority, analyzes police traditions and looks at the Tokko's interactions with other Japanese institutions and the broader socio-political climate. In addition, the book sets the Tokko in the context of the political system as a whole by developing the police state as an analytical concept. The book considers the history of the idea of a police state, and compares the Japanese Tokko with the political police in Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia. Sources include confidential Tokko documents and interviews with former Tokko officials.