The problem has become so serious that a leading Japanese newspaper published an editorial on January 26 describing the scale and sheer number of incidents as “hard to believe” and demanding that senior management “rebuild the organisation”.

The Mainichi took particular issue with the scandals that have shaken prefectural forces, saying: “This cannot be dismissed as simply a ‘lapse in discipline’. Organisational dysfunction is resulting in irreversible consequences.”

Shinichi Ishizuka, founder of the Tokyo-based Criminal Justice Future think tank, said the police were facing a series of challenges to their institution.

“In some of these cases we see corruption and officers taking payments; in others, there are officers who want to make a name for themselves and go too far,” he told This Week in Asia.