1. What Should You Do If You See a Crying Child?
If you see a small child crying on the street, one place that comes to mind is a "koban" (police box). The Metropolitan Police Department lists duties for kobans including protecting lost children and drunk people, giving directions, accepting reports of lost items, and listening to local residents' problems [3]. This list might seem surprising if you think police only chase criminals. Protecting lost children or giving directions is closer to everyday troubles than solving crimes. So why do police take on these tasks?
2. What the Police Act Says Police Must Protect
The Police Act, Article 2, defines the police duty as "the protection of individual life, body, and property." It also includes maintaining public safety and order through crime prevention, investigation, arresting suspects, and traffic control [1]. Chasing crimes is just one part of this duty. A lost child might be in danger to their life or body. A lost item belongs to someone's property. From this law, both fall within the police scope of protection.
The Police Duties Execution Act, Article 3, states that if police officers have reasonable grounds to believe a person needs emergency aid, they must protect them at a police station, hospital, or care facility. Lost children and drunk people who cannot protect themselves are given as examples [2]. However, the Police Act strictly limits police activity to these duties and forbids abusing their authority [1]. Because their scope is defined, police are not a place that solves "every kind of problem." This raises the question: how did local boxes become places for daily help?
Safety Note: The Police Act defines police duties as protecting life, body, and property, which includes crime prevention, investigation, arrests, and traffic control [1].
3. How Kobans (Police Boxes) Began in Tokyo in 1874
According to the Metropolitan Police Department, the system of placing kobans in towns with uniformed officers working around them started in Tokyo in 1874 (Meiji 7) [3]. The original "koban-sho" involved officers taking turns standing guard at specific locations away from the main station. This differs in form from today's kobans, which are buildings.
A koban is mainly in urban areas where officers take shifts to patrol. A "chuzaijo" (officers’ residence) is usually staffed by one officer who lives there with their family and protects that local area [3]. Officers living in chuzaijos are thought to be easier for residents to talk to because they know them personally. Kobans receive both urgent help requests and non-urgent consultations. The phone number you use helps separate these.
4. When to Call 110 and When to Call #9110
In 2024, there were about 10.6 million calls to 110. This works out to one call every 3.0 seconds, or roughly the number of calls equivalent to one person for every 11 people in the country [4]. However, this is an estimate based on numbers; it does not mean one in 11 people actually called. From January to November 2025, police accepted about 10.02 million calls to 110, which was about 380,000 more than the same period last year [7]. Note that annual figures and Jan-Nov figures cover different periods, so they cannot be directly compared.
The National Police Agency urges people to use 110 without hesitation for emergencies like crimes or accidents. For non-urgent consultations, they recommend using "#9110" or other consultation lines [4]. The Aichi Prefectural Police explain that calling 110 for non-urgent matters can delay responses to real emergencies [5]. "#9110" connects you to the police headquarters consultation desk. In Aichi, it is open weekdays from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, but hours vary by prefecture [5]. Also, January 10 is "110 Day," established by the National Police Agency in 1985, with the first nationwide campaign on January 10, 1986 [5][6]. Using different numbers is not about refusing help, but ensuring urgent people get help quickly.
5. What the Lost Property Act Says About Found Items
The Lost Property Act, Article 4, states that if you find an item, you must return it to the owner or submit it to the chief of a police station promptly. However, if you find it inside a shop, train, or station, you give it to the manager of that facility [8]. Article 28 says that when the item is returned, the owner must pay the finder a reward ("houroukin") between 5% and 20% of the item's value. If found in a facility, this reward is split between the finder and the manager [8]. You do not have to find the owner alone; reporting to police connects you to them.
In Tokyo, according to Metropolitan Police statistics for 2025 (Reiwa 7), there were 4,538,244 found items reported and 1,100,657 lost item reports. Of these, 596,513 items were returned to owners [9]. The number of found items was about 4.54 million, averaging about 12,000 per day. This is about four times the number of lost item reports. These are Tokyo-only figures. Nationwide, in 2023, about 29.787 million non-cash lost items were reported, which was reported as the highest since statistics began in 1971 [10]. The large numbers reflect the high volume of lost items and the number of reports filed.
6. Practice Choosing Between 110, #9110, and a Koban
To practice, prepare three papers labeled "110," "#9110," and "Go to a Koban/Police Station." Discuss these situations with family or friends: "Someone collapsed and it might be a crime or accident," "I want to report a wallet I found," or "The road near my house is dark and scary." There may not be one right answer. The key point is "is it urgent?" For truly dangerous situations that might be crimes or accidents, call 110 without hesitation. If someone is injured or suddenly ill and needs an ambulance, call 119; this sorting exercise does not cover 119. Do not make actual phone calls for the purpose of this practice.
To learn more, look up the "#9110" reception hours on your prefecture's police website. Is it the same as the Aichi example in this article? You can read the Police Act, Police Duties Execution Act, and Lost Property Act on the e-Gov Law Search site. Look for the words in Article 3 about protecting lost children to see how they compare to this article's explanation.