How to become a Police Officer
Protects people's lives, safety and property, prevents, suppresses and investigates crime, arrests suspects, enforces traffic laws and keeps public order and safety.
Main tasks
- Going to the scene of an incident when called by the station and taking the necessary action
- Collecting evidence left at the scene, finding witnesses and identifying suspects
- Gathering evidence and investigating crimes to catch offenders
- Bringing suspects to the police station for questioning and arresting them once there is enough evidence
- Applying the law to decide whether an arrest is justified
- Listening to people who come to the police box, giving directions and taking reports of lost property
- Patrolling and visiting homes to keep the area safe
- Stopping and questioning suspicious people
- Providing security at large events to keep people safe and maintain order
- Finding and looking after lost children and older people
- Handling work related to neighbourhood associations
- Getting to know local residents to build good relationships
- Enforcing traffic laws and investigating traffic accidents
- Supporting investigations led by the station
- Training new officers and guiding junior staff
Workers in this job say university or high school is common. From job tag's survey of people in each job, who could give several answers. It shows what workers see as common, not how many workers hold each level.
How to become one
To become a prefectural police officer you must pass your prefecture's police officer recruitment exam. Eligibility varies a little between prefectural police forces, but there are physical requirements, and each exam category has its own age limits. New officers train at the prefectural police academy, where they learn their responsibilities, develop a sense of mission and gain basic knowledge and skills. After graduating from the academy, officers are first posted to a police station and work at a police box (koban), mainly preventing and solving crime and enforcing traffic rules. After that they move into specialist fields depending on their wishes, ability and aptitude. Officers can be promoted to senior ranks by passing promotion exams.
Ways in
- Vocational college, junior college, kosen and trade skills tests: Vocational college (専門学校) course: Law and public administration. 専修学校 courses in 法律行政 (文化・教養関係) had 6,745 graduates in the 2024 school year, 5,524 of whom started work in a related field (School Basic Survey 2025, table 237). Course matched to the occupation by Peernovo.
Pay · Job openings · AI and this job
- 6.55 job openings per applicant at Hello Work (2025). A current demand signal, not a projection. It counts only the jobs and job seekers registered at Hello Work, Japan's public employment offices, and many graduate and professional hires never pass through it.
- Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
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Questions people ask
How do I become a Police Officer?
To become a prefectural police officer you must pass your prefecture's police officer recruitment exam. Eligibility varies a little between prefectural police forces, but there are physical requirements, and each exam category has its own age limits. New officers train at the prefectural police academy, where they learn their responsibilities, develop a sense of mission and gain basic knowledge and skills. After graduating from the academy, officers are first posted to a police station and work at a police box (koban), mainly preventing and solving crime and enforcing traffic rules. After that they move into specialist fields depending on their wishes, ability and aptitude. Officers can be promoted to senior ranks by passing promotion exams.
Do you need a degree to become a Police Officer?
Not always. In this job's census occupation group, 57% of workers are university graduates. Ways in include: Vocational college (専門学校) course: Law and public administration.
Will AI change the work of a Police Officer?
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
Sources
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare: Employment Referrals for General Workers (一般職業紹介状況): Hello Work job-openings-to-applicants ratio by occupation (2025 annual (release of 2026-10-02)), Government Standard Terms of Use 2.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
- Statistics Bureau of Japan (MIC): 2020 Population Census (令和2年国勢調査) detailed sample tabulation: employed by occupation, sex, age and education (2020 Census (tables 9-1 and 15-1, published 2022-12-27)), Government Standard Terms of Use 2.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
- JILPT (職業情報データベース) via MHLW job tag: job tag download data: 解説系 (descriptions, how to become, related qualifications) and 簡易版数値系 (interests, tasks, education) (解説系 ver.7.01 (2026-06-04); 簡易版数値系 ver.7.00 (2026-03-17)), retrieved 4 October 2026
- International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 解説系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_description_7_01.xlsx）ver.7.01 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成
独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 簡易版数値系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_numeric_7_00.xlsx）ver.7.00 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成
Sources: JILPT Occupational Information Database download data via job tag (解説系 ver.7.01 and 簡易版数値系 ver.7.00, downloaded 4 October 2026), processed by Peernovo; MHLW, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025; Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2020 Population Census; MEXT, School Basic Survey 2025; MHLW, Employment Referrals for General Workers (Hello Work statistics). Figures processed by Peernovo. English job names, translations and the matching of jobs to statistical groups, schools and degree fields by Peernovo.
Updated 4 October 2026