ABSTRACT
The community policing system, which has long been a defining feature of Japan's low-crime society, no longer has sufficient staffing and resources in rural areas to maintain its prior levels of efficiency and effectiveness. The population trends have left rural Japan with a number of challenges. Senior citizens in rural Japan are more likely to live alone without ties to family, which makes them more vulnerable to new types of fraud such as Ore ore sagi and aggressive home-visit sales. In response to Ore ore sagi, the police also held workshops involving case studies, advised how to prevent such frauds, and distributed a newsletter to increase citizens' awareness. The aging concentration is closely correlated to rural depopulation, with the areas of highest aging also being the areas of the most significant depopulation. To improve community safety, people expected the police to patrol the community, and provide information about crime prevention and crimes that have taken place.
