Police officer shot dead in koban; 19-year-old colleague arrested

Want to bet he was bullied by the now-deceased officer

Surely they wouldn't allow such a young PO access to guns? But, I suppose they have to. I don't know if regular psych evaluations and monitoring of training and mentoring are a thing. Cleo will know.

Without a doubt there is a hell of a lot more information regarding this story and why this happened, but I just have to agree with Michael Jackson here.....I'd take that bet about bullying being an excuse.

Bullied or not bullied, this guy should not be allowed near a gun. Obviously he can't control his anger.

Want to bet he was bullied by the now-deceased officer

Bullying within police ranks is ingrained in police forces around Japan. I wouldn't bet a dime against you

I'll concur with those who chalk this up to bullying. It was the first thing I thought of when I read the headlines

Bullying might have been the cause but don't they give cops psych exams in Japan? Wait a minute, given the state of mental health services in Japan I guess not.

The coppers will close ranks and nothing will happen. Two officers killed themselves in the Denenchofu station a couple of years ago and nothing happened then either. Whatever the reason, it must have been something truly horrific to cause a 19 year old to shoot a superior in the back at point blank range.

Bullying within police ranks is ingrained in police forces around Japan. I wouldn't bet a dime against you.

It is ingrained in society!

At 19 he's old enough to be a cop, but not old enough to be tried as an adult. Something weird about that.

and yes, its a new generation. Boom! The 41 year old vs the 19 year old. It doesn't take much to imagine the dynamics between the two that lead to this. Back of the head. Just wow.

The news last night said that he said that he was 罵倒された which basically means that he was verbally abused. Very possibly with a "Bakayaro!!" or something like that.

So what if he was bullied? That gives you no right to execute someone like an animal. This guy should be put away for life

Indeed its a different generation. Ask any company manager - these days you have to handle the young employees with kid gloves and not criticize or they'll quit very easily. Mommy also wont hesitate to get involved and berate the boss.

and i guess if a guns handy...

he's not even 20 and already an officer? and armed?

I can’t believe an 18 year old, who is still a minor, can become an armed police officer. What is the criteria to become a cop in Japan? This kid has come straight out of high school and into the police force within a few weeks. Un-frigging-believable!

I wonder how cop killers are treated in jail in Japan I bet his bullying days aren't over

Old enough to carry a gun, but not old enough to smoke or drink legally. Something's wrong with this picture.

I thought officers had to go through years of academy training. How is this guy an officer at only 19? He's a kid!

Nobody is saying that being bullied gives someone a pass for killing the bully. People are merely saying bullying probably caused the shooting.

I can’t believe an 18 year old, who is still a minor, can become an armed police officer. What is the criteria to become a cop in Japan? 

Same as the armed forces.

Completion of compulsory education, 18yrs to 30 yrs of age. Once enlisted. the cadet goes through one year of police school.

Soldiers and marines are armed and sent to war as young as 18. What is so unbelievable?

I thought officers had to go through years of academy training. How is this guy an officer at only 19? He's a kid!

One year of police academy (6 months in the US) and 2 years of on-job-training.

Police are always referred to as “officer.”

eg: “Don’t shoot me, officer!” “No, officer. That is not a gun. I am just happy to see you.”

Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines are armed and deployed to war zones as young as 18.

The police academy training is one year. This officer would have just graduated and be new to the job. The police academies have two courses: one for people who have graduated high school and one for people who have graduated from university. The high school graduates become patrol officers and the university graduates become detectives, etc. So yes, a 19-year old armed officer is nothing unusual.

Very brave of him shooting the guy in the back of the head while he wasn't looking....and yes the numbers don't add up, leaving high school to having a gun and uniform in under a year? normally it take a few years of any college to graduate...smells like sushi, maybe a friend of the family pulled some strings to get him fast forwarded.

How is this guy an officer at only 19? 

They're simply using 'police officer' as the generic term for 警官. All it means is that he's a policeman, a member of the police force. At 19 he would be 巡査, i.e. entry level, the lowest of the low, having just completed his basic training (1 year for high school grads, 6 months for fast-track university grads) at police academy - equivalent to a constable in the UK police force. The officer who was shot was the 巡査部長 (sergeant) in charge of his continued training.

The training in the academy is quite rigorous (I only know about the 6-month course), testing the recruit physically, mentally and intellectually. Maybe the 1 year course is less rigorous, maybe this particular boy happened to fall through the cracks.

Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines are armed and deployed to war zones as young as 18.

I don't mean to downplay infantry as a respectable profession but police work requires more responsibility than being a grunt on battlefield. Low ranking soldiers are trained follow orders and not much else. They're told when to shoot and who to shoot at. Police must make this judgement on their own. Police must have interpersonal skills, good character and superb judgement. They are by law abiding citizens and criminals of varying degrees. They have to be able to make snap decisions concerning life and death and what amount of force is appropriate to resolve a situation. It's too much for a teenager to handle.

I was 22 when I joined the army. Served with some good mates who came straight from junior service at 17 years old. Switched on guys who did a great job but really just kids.

I think there should be a minimum age for police officers though. You are dealing with the public and really need some life experience to make sound and fair judgements.

19...way too young. Just chucked his life away now.

RIP to the poor cop.

Strange, was watching j news this morning and said to my partner, after watching the shooting in America on NHK, at least there is no gun crime here. Next news story, gun shooting in japan too.

That's what happens when you hire people basically just out of high school and with little or no qualifications. What's the training required for a kind one year out of school (unless he quite early) to become an officer? Seems they'll take anyone, and the bullying is why you hear about so many koban suicides.

Obviously more and better training is needed. And, now, technically the guy is still a kid and might not have to face charges as an adult on top of everything else.

You can’t shoot people you are annoyed at. He is an officer and is a total loose cannon.

That being said, Japan can be soul crushing and downright degrading and mind numbingly backwards. The way that a superior can bully you was probably too much for him to take.

When I called police to my house once I was pretty shocked by the blantant lording over and obvious bullying by the detective to the beat cops.

It is really disturbing that a guy who is not even allowed to buy alcohol at 19, is given the responsibility to carry a gun. In public. Lucky, we didn't meet this one while he was on official duty.

It could be a signal to old imbeciles in Japan, that if they want to live longer, they had better start treating others with due respect. However, the murderer is not exactly the sharpest tool either, and if mere bullying made him throw away his humanity, he would have become a stain on it sooner or later, I am afraid.

A child allowed to be act as a police officer and with access to a gun seems somewhat strange.

Your child, maybe, and this one apparently.

However the vast majority of 18 year olds who choose to be in the police force or armed forces are mature and intelligent enough to learn to safely use firearms, and dutifully serve the public by protecting the peace, order and freedom.

Which they had better start doing, because unless they actually become civil, comprehensive, and respective, this tragedy is only going to proliferate. And I would not like to have a third of the peacekeeping force deranged due to power harassment when I move in. Don't turn Japan into America, now.

He's either underage or employed. Should not be both. Underage should be in school and concentrating on studies...and the opposite sx. If age of adulthood is 20, then employment law should match.

Shiga prefectural police temporarily released the 19-year-old officer's name and photo despite his being a minor. Japan's juvenile law, which stipulates different treatment from adults, bans reports identifying underage criminals.

.......so......he's an "under-aged juvenile" but ok to carry a gun? Just checking.