MasaManiA [cultureJAP project]

For some reason, I was hoping they would transform into robots like Transformers… T-T
Nice pictures Masa.

SO FUCKING COOL
I LOVE JAPAN
HELLO FROM MEXICO

Very good pictures, Masa! I always like your photographic essays.
But what is that on the truck? The blue and white Isuzu, #22, with the men on the top? Is that a kangaroo? A koala? A bear?

wow! police bulldozer and police tanker truck! they’re ready for anything.
where’s the police gundam?

Those RX8 cop cars look wicked!

I can not believe, that the Japanese Police Force would have any use for a 80’s American Ford Thunderbird and Buick Riveria. Are you sure this wasn’t a Police car Fan Club?

wow! i’ve never seen the police rx-8 before. although i’ve seen a lot of the riot busses. the yelled att me through their PA last week

Nice job, Masa. Did the police give you special access in order to photograph their fleet of vehicles?
Keep it up!

Thank you Mr. Masa for so many close up pictures. I can really see all the gadgets Japan Police have. This is why violent crime is so low in Japan, police have many style vehicles. Criminals think twice. Lots of flashing lights too!

Fuck, Japan is rich!!! We have a lot of shit here in the USA too but our shit is generally beat down and dirty. I especially love this picture of what looks like an armored recreational vehicle. http://masamania.com/wp-content/uploads/police_car087.jpg
Peace!!! Love the site masa.

Hi Masa,
There are some cars that are white and blue, others cars are white and green with a little black panther….
Why this difference?
===========from MasaManiA
I dont know.

I somehow doubt that fancy vehicles are the reason for low violent crime in Japan. Surely the lack of access to guns plays a huge role, plus cultural differences regarding the respect for authority.

they look so friendly and seem to be no harm.
most of police car look like toys
nice pics masa!!!

The first vehicle looks like it was built for the lego police.
The low crime rate probably has more to do with the prisons NOT feeling like a country club, not a lack of guns.
1) The prison system in the US once considered feeding inmates MREs-the same food given to the US military, the same food that I am fed. It was decided that MREs were ‘cruel and unusual punishment’. MREs are good enough for those who voluteer to defend the US, but not for criminals. Shit, I should comit a crime for the better living conditions, but I’m too honest for that. Damn.
2) Hypothetical situation: You are a criminal. You have bought a hand gun or a rifle on the black market (it’s easier than buying them legally and harder for the police to trace). You plan on mugging someone. Do you mug a) the guy you know cannot own a gun because of current gun laws or b) the guy who lives where gun laws are minimal and may own a hand gun or a rifle himself?
I’d pick the poor fucker who can’t defend himself and stay far away from the guy who might be armed with anything from a old revolver to a AK-47 or even a 50 cal. He may not even own a firearm at all, but I’m not trying to find out the hard way. I’d pick the easy target.
Of course, I must ask if violent crime really IS low in Japan. Are people only looking at the statistics for crimes committed with guns or are they including all violent crimes (rape, murder with weapons other than guns, etc.)? What are the statistics being compared to? The US? South Africa? All the counties in the world? Is the comparison based on per capita statistics or only on the number of number of violent crimes committed in those countries?
Singapore has a low crime rate, but it has less to do with gun laws than it does with getting caned.

This is the police convertible:
http://masamania.com/wp-content/uploads/police_car059.jpg
For the police who likes to have wind in his hair while driving. Maybe a police see this car and take it for a drive very fast, and get stopped by other police. Haha!

Man these vehicles are sparkling CLEAN and in showroom condition! They must have been washed and waxed everyday. I admire the pride and seriousness these guys take in doing their job.

I guess if you were robbing a bank you’d be able to see the cops comming with those brightly colored buses. They all look like they were built to take out zombies if the city were plagued with them.

Great and all, but where is the death ray tank they use when Godzilla attacks?
===============from MasaManiA
It is still in USA and on duty. you know the reson.

Yeah, the low crime rate isn’t do to prisons or the flashing lights, The University of Chicago Sociology Department did a study on Japan’s crime rate, specifically it’s violent crime rate, back in the 1980’s. The violent crime rate is insanely low despite the fact that instituitional and organized crime is through the roof. The reasoning is that the criminal justice system there has the highest conviction rate in the world. The rely on a minimum of regular police (i.e. “beat cops”) and a highly developed detective force. Their conviction rate for murders, rapes, and assault has been in the high 90’s for decades, year in and year out. Instead of a whole bunch of semi-literate thugs in cars with guns to deter people, the rely on everyone in the country having a sure and certain knowledge that if they do something to harm another person, they will get caught.
The flashing lights thing is a good theory too though.

Adam,
Now THAT theory makes sense. I knew it had to be something other than ‘lack of access to guns’. In Nevada, the crime rate is lower due to MORE access to guns, so I knew it was something other than less access that kept the crime rate where it is in Japan. I mean, surely the Yakuza have access to guns…if the average person doesn’t have equal access to guns, then, of course, the answer lies elsewhere (as you said, more detectives).

Again, good work Masamania!
Some trucks honour Cubism
Good design!

Man, thats a lot of hardware.. What are they expecting to happen? Or was that all made for the 2002 World Cup fulligans?