New original mascot characters were born to help our job. Here comes Pobit, Labit and Warubit!

Since Japan welcomes 2023 which is the year of Rabbit in the Chinese zodiac, I choose them as our partners.
Pobit is a yellow rabbit, he is a police officer.
Labit is a red rabbit on the lower left, she's also a police officer.
Warubit is a pink rabbit who is shaken on the right side, he is a fraudster. (The word "Waru" means "bad" in Japanese.)
Situation: Warubit is trying to make a fraud phone call, but Pobit cut into the line and is saying "Hold it!" Labit is saying "the call you got could be a scam..."

Do you know Japanese Emergency Call number? It's 110.
In Japan, the police designates January 10 as "110 Day". This year, we had an event for "110 Day" on January 9 with Misawa Aviation and Science Museum. This was aimed at promoting the proper use for the Emergency Call 110.

Happy new year.
We are glad that everyone has welcomed new year in good health. We appreciate local resident's deep understanding and cooperation for the police activities during the last year.
In 2022, various events which had canseled or postponed so far took place because COVID-19 outbreak showed signs of convergence. We Misawa police have been striving for the safer cities through PR activities in various events or crowd control at festivals. 2022 has finished without serious accidents or incidents. On the other hand, frauds by fictitous bills and theft cases that occurred in close proximity to us increased, and precious lives were lost in traffic accidents.
We will do our best in 2023 to prevent local residents from being involved in crimes or accidents, and to aim for "the community where residents can feel secure and safe" and "the community where children who will lead us in the future can grow up healthily."
I hope everyone will not have any incidents or accidents this year. If you have any problems or suspicious information, please don't hesitate to call or consult with the police.
At the end, we pray that this year will be full of hope and happiness, and we appreciate your cooperation for this year.

4 Elementary School kids from JUMP team, 10 volunteers and police officers went to AEON Mall Shimoda on December 26 for JUMP team activities. This was aimed at preventing delinquencies during school winter break.

Misawa police made our original poster for "Twilight 3H Campaign" aiming for the road safety. It is a Christmas version!

The 3H comes from the first letters of the following 3 points.
　1) Headlights on
　2) High beams on
　3) Have on reflectors
Drivers, please drive safely and be considerate to pedestrians. Everyone, please be noticeable when you walk outside at night.
We also made a Japanese version. Check it out from the following link.
[Misawa police website in Japanese]

Monetary assistance for Misawa JUMP team was presented from non-profit organization "Takeoff Misawa" on December 23. The JUMP team consists of local school kids and local police. JUMP stands for Juvenile Misconduct Prevention. The team work for juvenile delinquency prevention.
Takeoff Misawa has continued supporting JUMP team since 2016. We really appreciate their kind assists. We would like to use the money in a meaningful way to fund activities for the sound upbringing of youth.

On December 20, Misawa police presented a Certificate of Appreciation to a manager and employees of Family Mart Oirase Kami-maeda for preventing their customer's fraud victimization. Also we qualified this Family Mart as an excellent shop for taking special actions to prevent fraud victimization.
In November, an elderly man came to the above Family Mart and said "I want fifty thousands yen of iTunes card." Employees asked the reason, then he answered "My computer has infected viruses and shown a phone number of supporting center. I called there and was said it required fifty thousands yen of iTunes card to repair my computer." The employees thought this must be a fraud, so persuaded this man to stop buying the card and go to the police.
"It was really good to be able to save our customer from the fraud crime." The manager said during the presentation ceremony. "The Headquarters of Family Mart have instructed us to be careful about the suspected fraud victim customers, so I told employees to care about the customers who were trying to buy high amount of electronic money. We will keep doing this to prevent fraud victimization."

On December 19, two Japan Air Self Defense Force officials were presented with Certificates of Appreciation for their distinguished work at the accident scene.
A road accident happened on December 6 in Oirase town and drivers were injured from the accident. Mr. Yoshida and Mr. Ichihashi, who were just passing by the accident scene, helped drivers from the cars and called an ambulance. They also did a traffic control to prevent secondary car accidents. Since their actions were appropriate and speedy, drivers were sent to the hospital immediately.
We appreciate the courageous acts by Mr. YOSHIDA Tetsuya and Mr. ICHIHASHI Shoko.

On December 15, which was the last pension payment day of 2022, we patrolled in the jurisdiction of Misawa police during the year-end special precaution period, stopping by financial institutions and implementing financial crime prevention assessment.

The Aomori prefectural police has implemented various measurements to prevent incidents, accidents, and juvenile delinquency, designating the period from December 14 to 31 as the Year-end Special Precaution.
On December 14, at Misawa police station, police officers held a patrol dispatch ceremony and carried out patrol within the jurisdiction.
The ceremony was planned to be held jointly with the Mayor of Misawa, the Mayor of Oirase, the Commander of 35th Security Forces from Misawa Air Base, the President of Misawa City Crime Prevention Association, the President of Oirase Town Crime Prevention Association, the President of Misawa District Volunteer Liaison Committee for Juvenile, the President of Misawa District Traffic Safety Association, and volunteers related to crime prevention as well as traffic safety; it however was held by only police officers reducing the scale because of snowstorm.

As a part of JUMP team activities, the team members and some volunteers went to Dai-Ni Middle School in Misawa on December 6. We stood in front of the school, and said "Good morning!" to students with appealing for juvenile misconduct prevention. The mascot character of Aomori prefectural police "Sagi-Kamo-kun" came as well to appeal for fraud prevention.

Monetary assistance for Misawa JUMP team was presented from Misawa Lions Club on November 29. The JUMP team consists of local school kids and local police. JUMP stands for Juvenile Misconduct Prevention. The team work for juvenile delinquency prevention.
The Lions Club has continued supporting JUMP team since 2008. We really appreciate their kind assists. We would like to use the money in a meaningful way to fund activities for the sound upbringing of youth.

On November 28, the 3rd grader students of Ohzora Elementary School visited Misawa police. After a short brief of police work, they enjoyed touching police gear and in-vehicle experience of a police car. They also asked us, "How many cases do Misawa police handle?" "How many police dogs are there?" "How many people work here?"
I hope this was a special extracurricular class for them.

Mr. Tabata and Mr. Miura, citizens of Misawa city, created original car stickers. The sticker shows the car driver is an elderly person. We give it to the elderly drivers who renew their licenses at Misawa police station.
When you see a car with this sticker on it, please drive gently.

On November 5, the Tsunami Disaster Preparedness Day, 10 Misawa police officers did plogging activity around Misawa port. Plogging is a combination of jogging with picking up litter, and the word "plogging" comes from "plocka upp" (Swedish verbs meaning "pick up") and "jogging".
We ran 5km with picking up 10 bags of litter! Also we checked evacuation route from Tsunami, as preparedness for natural disaster. I felt very refreshed: having a good sweat, cleaning up our city, and preparing for an emergency.

Kindergarteners visited the police station on Nov. 1 from Okamisawa Kindergarten; on Nov. 4 from Misawa Daiichi Kindergarten for the upcoming Labor Thanksgiving Day of Nov. 23. They presented us bouquet flowers with saying "Thank you always for your work, officers!"
Through this visit, children expressed their thanks to the police. They also enjoyed Police Station Tour and in-vehicle experience of a police car.
This heartwarming visit made us happy. All of Misawa police personnel and I renewed our motivation to make a better future for children.

On October 23, the disaster-preparedness exercise was conducted for the first time in 5 years. 29 organizations with about 300 people including Fire Department, Voluntary Disaster Prevention Association, USAF Misawa, JSDF Misawa and police participated in the exercise, and worked on various cooperative training.
The exercise was carried out under the hypothetical scenario that a big earthquake hit Misawa and Tsunami alert was put out. We set evacuation shelters, cleared obstruction on the road, and had a fire safety training as well as traffic control training.

On October 14 at Veedol plaza, we conducted publicity campaign with our volunteers calling on visitors to beware of fraud and to promote their awareness about prevention of traffic fatalities via "Twilight 3H Campaign".
Recently citizens got a phone call from a person who pretended a Misawa police officer. Please be careful of suspicious phone calls, police never ask your bank account information. If you get it, notify to the police immediately.

Aomori prefectural police launched "Twilight 3H Campaign" to reduce fatal road accidents. This aims for ensuring the safety of elderly pedestrians and cyclists, especially at twilight.
The 3H comes from the first letters of the following 3 points.
　1) Headlights on
　2) High beams on
　3) Have on reflectors
Here is a poster for this campaign, in Japanese, Halloween version.

1) Headlights on
At twilight and night, road accidents tend to happen more. Please be mindful to turn headlights on earlier at twilight.
Recommended time to turn them on:
Oct. 15:30- / Nov., Dec. 15:00-
2) High beams on
During night driving, it is very hard to recognize pedestrians or cyclists quickly. So please be sure to switch to high beams when you drive on a dark road with few street lights at night.
3) Have on reflectors
Now you realize that pedestrians should take some actions too not to be involved in an accident. We strongly suggest having on reflectors. Putting a reflective key chain on your bag, putting reflective stickers on your shoes, or wearing reflective clothes. Please be noticeable.

On September 27, Misawa police conducted traffic safety workshop for Misawa branch office of Tohoku Electric Power Co.,Inc.
A traffic enforcement officer instructed participants how to drive in the event of a disaster, and they checked how safe they can drive by a driving education car. Also they learned about emergency calls (110 and 119), obstruction of pedestrians on the crosswalk, and cycling rules.
Through this workshop, their awareness for the traffic safety was raised.

We offer this type of workshop for any companies.
If you are interested in this, please feel free to ask us.

During the Autumn Road Traffic Safety Campaign, Misawa police conducted publicity campaign with the mayor of Misawa-city and related organization. This is aiming for promoting traffic safety, infusing traffic rules and preventing fatal traffic accidents.
On September 29, after a message for traffic safety from the governor was passed on to the mayor, the mayor made a speech, and we distributed traffic safety flayers to over 100 vehicle's drivers.

On September 30, continued from the previous day, we conducted publicity campaign with the mayor of Oirase-town and related organization, to promote "Zero Traffic Fatality Day".
We distributed traffic safety flayers to drivers and pedestrians at the intersection in front of Oirase police box and AEON Mall Shimoda.
As you can see from the photos below, some kids joined us too!

Aomori prefectural police band will hold their annual concert in Misawa.
Place: Misawa Civic Center
Date: October 29, 13:30-15:00
It is free of charge but needs a ticket. To get a ticket, you need to apply to the police by October 7.
If you are interested in this concert, please feel free to ask us.

The "Aomori 10 cities festival", where you enjoy "festivals" and "foods" of the 10 cities in Aomori prefecture, was held in Misawa city for the first time in three years on September 24 and 25. The audience enjoyed many festivals representing Aomori prefecture.
During the festival, the Misawa police officers conducted traffic control, crowd control and response of incidents, and we were able to complete the festival without any incidents or accidents.

On September 21, Misawa police held a mobilization ceremony for the Autumn Road Traffic Safety Campaign at Misawa civic center. After the ceremony, we jointly conducted traffic street activities and crackdown with volunteers.
This campaign targets following 4 points:
1. Securing the safety of pedestrians, especially for children and the elderly
2. Preventing traffic accidents involving pedestrians, during the evening and the night
3. Eradication of DUI
4. Adherence to traffic rules for cyclists

On September 17, Misawa police joined in "Hands-on Disaster Prevention Fest" at AEON mall Shimoda. JASDF, Fire Department and Misawa police exhibited their vehicles and let the visitors ride. The weather was perfect for the event, a lot of families enjoyed it.
I am sure that the visitor's awareness for the disaster prevention must have been rising.

On September 15, Misawa police had a supporting agreement in the time of disaster, with the "Misawa Security Guard Inc."
In March 2011, when the Great East Japan Earthquake had occurred, Misawa Security Guard sent 17 security guards to Misawa police as volunteers. They helped us in searching for the missing people. Also they voluntarily sent some guards to Miyagi prefecture, which had critical damages from that disaster, to support the local people and restore the area.
Considering their dedication and these day's frequent heavy rain disasters in Aomori, we reached an agreement in September, which has National Disaster Prevention Day. Moreover, they kindly agreed to afford the cost required for their activities.
I appreciate their ever efforts and the decision on this. I am confident that the partnership between us would redound to quick reactions against disasters.

On Sunday September 11, the Misawa Air Base Festival was held for the first time in three years. To ensure the traffic safety and prevent accidents, all of the Misawa police officers responded, but thanks to the good manners of visitors, we were able to complete the event without any confusion or accidents.
Next year's event will be also held safely and securely.

As of September 10, it has passed 50 days since the one-way traffic restriction near the Main Gate had lifted. The chart shows that how the number of traffic accidents has changed before and after the lifting.

Successfully, it has gone down. It is working for our community's safety. We really appreciate your understanding and help, and hope the better future with no accidents.
Now the Autumn Road Traffic Safety Campaign has began on September 21. Misawa police will continue to strengthen traffic enforcement.
Everyone, please be careful not to be involved accidents. Drivers, please drive safely and be considerate to pedestrians.

The 69th Misawa Juvenile Speech Contest was held online on September 8.
Ms. IGARASHI Koharu, a 3rd grader student of Kinoshita middle school in Oirase, won the first place with a speech "Upgrade your information literacy, and be prepared."
Congratulations Ms. Igarashi! She is going to make a speech on Prefectural Juvenile Speech Contest in Aomori.

On September 8, we honored Mr.Nakamura, who is a member of Crime Prevention Association, Misawa District, for years of faithful service. He was awarded by Chief of Council for Crime Prevention Association, Tohoku region.
He has joined the association in 1957, and been working on community patrols. He has dedicated himself to community safety.
We appreciate his years of efforts.

The caravan visited Shimoda elementary school in Oirase and Veedol Dome in Misawa to promote traffic safety awareness. They passed on a message from the governor to citizens, and let the visitors and school kids try a seat belt convincer. Misawa police appealed with the caravan to them for the traffic safety actions.

At the elementary school in Oirase

At the Veedol dome in Misawa

Misawa festival was held for the first time in 3 years, on August 20 and 21. To prevent accidents and incidents in the festival, all of Misawa police officers were patrolling.

On August 20 and 21, Misawa police participated in "Kids Job Fair" at AEON Mall Shimoda. Many families enjoyed police car exhibition, forensic experience and try-on of kids police uniform. Our mascot characters also visited this event, and some kids took photos with them.

So far more than half of the crimes which happened in Misawa city and Oirase town this year were thefts. Specifically, they were shoplifting, theft from vehicle, sneak theft, bike theft, motorcycle theft, and baggage theft.
To prevent criminal victimization,
□Lock your car even when parking at your house
□Lock all doors and windows even if you go for a short walk
□Put two locks on your bike
□Do not leave your belongings
please keep them in your mind, and have a wonderful life.

During Misawa Tanabata Festival, we patrolled with volunteers. All of three days were really fine, a lot of visitors came to enjoy this first festival in a while. Thanks to volunteers, no accidents, no injuries, it ended peacefully. Our life is going back to normal!

On July 27, the grant presentation ceremony was held at Misawa police station. It was from Misawa Construction Association to JUMP team. JUMP stands for Juvenile Misconduct Prevention, and this is a team for kids who do various activities for juvenile misconduct prevention. The local police support it.
The association has been continuing this supports since 2001. We really appreciate their kindly assists.

The road traffic safety campaign was held from July 21 to 31. Misawa police conducted publicity activities with their volunteers. This campaign targeted following 4 points;
1) Securing the safety of pedestrians, especially for children and the elderly, and raising awareness of safe driving
2) Safe driving for cyclist
3) Fastening seat belts in all seats, and the correct use of an infant car seat
4) Prevention of DUI and other dangerous driving
At AEON Mall Shimoda on July 21

At the street near Misawa city hall on July 22

Mr.Takebayashi Akio, who is the president of Misawa Police Supporter's Association, was commended by Japan Police Benefits Foundation for his contribution to the community through his supports to the police activities. The presentation ceremony was held at Misawa police station on July 19.

As the chief of Misawa police, I appreciate his faithful supports and understanding for our activities.

On July 17, Misawa Aviation Science Museum and Misawa police held Police Festa at the museum.
Despite a 3-year hiatus due to a countermeasure against COVID-19, and unfortunately it was raining, a lot of families came to this event. They enjoyed police cars exhibition, forensic experience, police band performances and try-on of kids police uniform.
Thank you to all the staff's supports.

The Safe Driving Center presents commendations in the joint names with Aomori prefectural police HQ to the offices with excellent rate of no accident and no violation selected among those issued analysis results of driving record certificates.
The commendation ceremony was held on July 12 after the decision was made for the commendation-winning offices under the jurisdiction of Misawa police in the first term of the Reiwa 4th year.
We hope they continue as local leaders for safe-driving.

On July 5, Misawa police held a ceremony to commission civilian dogs as police dogs. This year, we ask five civilian dogs and four handlers. They will work with us for one year from this month. I believe each of them will be a great investigator with their amazing sense of smell.
Actually, some of them worked with us last year. We really appreciate their efforts and services.
We are very looking forward to working with them!

On June 30, we conducted publicity activities with volunteers at Veedol Plaza, calling for safe driving and fraud prevention.

After that, Aomori prefectural police band came to hold a surprise concert! They cheered citizens and our volunteers up through music.

♪Announcement
Aomori prefectural police band will hold their annual concert in Misawa city on October 29, 2022. It is free of charge but needs a ticket.
If you are interested in this concert, please feel free to ask us.

On June 26, some officers of Misawa police participated in the "Oirase Icho Marathon Competition" held in Oirase town, as police runners (of course I joined too). We were not only running, but also checking the safety of this event.
Surprisingly, two Spider-Men appeared to give smiles to kids! They ran with us and enlivened the event. Thanks to Spider-Men, we could successfully finish our job as the police runner.

Misawa police held a joint training with AEON MALL Shimoda, Oirase Fire Department, and Riot Squad on June 15. During the training, we demonstrated how to handle an intruder with a knife, or how to handle hazardous substances.
This was an good opportunity for each of us to consider what we should do in each position and how we closely and effectively cooperate each other. We will repeat this type of training.

A fraud victimization has occurred. The victim got an e-mail saying that he/she needed to make sure his/her phone bill. The victim called its contact information and it turned out that some charges were unpaid, if the victim did not pay in that day, the charges would increase three times. Actually this was a fraud, but the victim paid that fake charges through ATM.
To prevent more fraud victimization, we carried out public activities on June 15 calling for fraud alert. We collaborated with civilian crime-prevention unit, civilian traffic patrol unit and Silver Sensei, and called for safe driving as well.

A fatal traffic accident has occurred. We pray for the soul of the victim.
Date and time: Around 3:26 A.M. on June 6
Place: Prefectural road in Kinoshita-Higashi, Oirase town
Circumstances:
A 60 years old man was hit by a car and the car strongly hit his body. He was confirmed dead at a hospital. The road where the accident happened was straight, had no street lights and had one lane on each side.
Misawa police will strengthen traffic enforcement to prevent fatal traffic accidents.
Drivers, please drive safely and be considerate to pedestrians.
Everyone, when walking outside at night, please wear reflectors and noticeable attire.

On May 27, 2022, Misawa police presented a Certificate of Appreciation to 7-Eleven Oirase Shinden, the manager and one employee of that 7-Eleven for preventing their customer's fraud victimization. Also we qualified this 7-Eleven as an excellent shop for taking special actions to prevent fraud victimization.
At around 7 P.M. on May 9, 60-year-old man came to the above 7-Eleven. This man said "If I send 20,000yen to a certain account, I will get 2 billion yen." The employee thought this must be a fraud, so he and the manager persuaded this man to stop sending money and called the police. They saved this man from fraud victimization.
"It is really difficult to catch the timing when we should talk to our customer," they said during the presenting ceremony. "But saving our customer is the first priority. We will keep doing what we should do to prevent fraud victimization."

On May 13, 2022, Misawa police presented a Certificate of Appreciation to Aomori Bank Misawa branch office for preventing their customer's fraud victimization. Also we qualified this branch as an excellent office for taking special actions to prevent fraud victimization.
The victim got a message from the unknown person (this person posed as a foreign national and they had met through social media). The message said "The package I was trying to send you is being held up at Customs in a certain country. To release it and send it, thousands of dollars will be required. I want you to help me by sending money."
Victim tried to send money through wire transfer at Aomori Bank Misawa branch office, but tellers and its branch manager wondered this could be a fraud. They persuaded victim to stop sending money and prevented fraud victimization.

On April 28, 12 officers of Misawa police conducted special fraud damage prevention public relations activities on the occasion of the "Prefectural Simultaneous Special Fraud Damage Prevention Measures Strengthening Day" with the cooperation of Misawa post office.
One special fraud occurred within the jurisdiction of Misawa police this year, and the damage amount was 300,000yen, and we will call on local residents to prevent damage so that the future occurrence will be "0".
By phone calls or e-mails, "You have a refund" "You have an overpayment" "You have a refund procedure at the ATM" "Go to the ATM now" "You won the lottery. Buy electronic money to pay for the commission." are all frauds. If you receive that kind of calls or e-mails you do not remember, such as a transfer of money, please consult the police immediately.

One police dog did a remarkable service to the police activity. One night, an eighty-year-old woman went missing. Many police officers looked for her, and the police dog "Fenom" was one of them. Surprisingly, Fenom found that missing woman safely.
We presented a Certificate of Appreciation and some special treats to Fenom. Thank you very much Fenom! We are looking forward to working with you again.

To start with the new working year, the Chief conducted an inspection police officers at the police station. All the personnel will work hard to create a safe and secure community with the policy of Aomori prefectural police, "strongly, justly and warmly".

In order to prevent traffic accidents when newly enrolled children start going to school, we conducted traffic patrol activities at the intersection near Momoishi elementary school in Oirase town with the mayor of Oirase town and Oirase Traffic Safety Association on April 11th.
We will continue traffic patrol activities so that children can go to and from school safely.

On April 12th, at the front of the Oirase police box, we conducted publicity activities to promote "Zero Traffic Fatality Day" with the mayor of Oirase town and Oirase Traffic Safety Association.
Thanks to everyone, there were no traffic fatalities on that day. Everyone, let's keep in mind safe driving.

On April 13, Misawa police commissioned 4 citizens, Mr. Inabayashi, Mr. Hashimoto, Mr. Henmi and Ms. Murata, to take an important role in the traffic safety activities for senior citizens.
They will work on various volunteer activities from April 2022 to March 2023, to raise awareness about the traffic safety from their own sight.
I ask all of you and all of drivers to take care of yourselves and drive safely.

We call those 4 citizens as "Silver Sensei(teacher)" in Japanese.
Now "silver" is a Japanese word describing senior (citizens) or its generation. The reason why Japan use the "silver" comes from the color of priority seating.
September 15, 1973, it was a National holiday for taking care of senior citizens. On that day, Japan National Railway set priority seating on their trains for senior citizens. This was a first time to introduce priority seating in Japan. Japan National Railway used "silver" color for those seats to distinguish it.
After that, the words "silver seat" had become famous in Japan as describing priority seating. And the word "silver" has been prevalent for describing senior citizens.

On April 6, 2022, we received a signature list of swearing safe driving from two organizations, Misawa District Safe Driving Business Administrator's Association and Misawa District Safe Driving Administrator's Association.
They had launched a signature-collecting campaign to raise awareness about safe driving. The campaign had collected 92 companies and 2,247 people's signatures.
The signature list includes the following pledges:
When there are pedestrians on the crosswalk,
I will stop my vehicle
so that they can cross a road safely.
When there are no pedestrians on or near a crosswalk,
I will drive within the speed to stop before the crossroad.

We held a mobilization ceremony with the Traffic Mobile Unit on April 15th accompanying the development of the "National Spring Traffic Safety Campaign" for 10 days from April 6th to 15th.
At the Misawa police station, in order to thoroughly prevent traffic accidents in Misawa city and Oirase town, which are under the jurisdiction of the Misawa police station, we will implement traffic guidance and control together with the related organizations and groups focusing on the following three points plus one.
1) Ensuring the safety of pedestrians including children
2) Improving awareness of safe driving such as pedestrian protection and eradication of drunk driving and so on
3) Ensuring the safety of bicyclists and their strict adherence to traffic rules and regulations
Plus one; Wearing seat belts and child seats in all seats