Police Cars Extravaganza - Part 6: The Police of the Rising Sun

In the mid-1970s, Japan introduced a national regulation requiring all vehicles sold domestically (JDM – Japanese Domestic Market) to be limited to a maximum speed of 112 mph (180 km/h) via a speed governor. In 1988, an additional gentlemen's agreement among members of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) imposed a power limit of 286 horsepower on all new cars sold.

However, as often happens, bans and limitations had the opposite effect in Japan as well. Indeed, in the late 1980s, illegal racing started flourishing around Tokyo, organized by a secret underground group known as the Mid Night Club. Members were street racers who met every Saturday night on the "Wangan-sen" (also known as the "Bayshore Route"), a 70-kilometer stretch of highway along the coastline, part of the "Shuto Expressway" network. Here, high-speed races took place using heavily modified vehicles. To combat this phenomenon, the Japanese police began recruiting increasingly powerful and unusual vehicles to match the tuned monsters of the Mid Night Club, capable of achieving astronomical speeds.

Let's explore some of the most significant examples.

Porsche is one of the sports car brands most widely used by police forces around the world. In Japan, Porsche 912 models were used in the 1960s, followed later by a 911 SC.

Following the use of four Porsche 912 models in the 1960s, the Japanese police shifted focus towards domestically produced sports cars. One of the earliest examples was the Nissan 240ZG, which served in Kanagawa Prefecture from 1972, primarily patrolling high-speed roads. Its 2393cc inline-6 engine produced 150 hp, ensuring solid performance for high-speed pursuits. However, due to rapid technological advancements, this quickly became insufficient as the power of production vehicles increased.

The Nissan 240ZG served from 1972, covering a total distance of 370,940 km before becoming part of Nissan's Heritage Collection.

The most fascinating Japanese police cars date from the 1990s onwards. The establishment of the Mid Night Club in 1987 marked a turning point, leading to the deployment of interceptor patrols explicitly tasked with hunting down and stopping street racers. Among these patrol cars was the Nissan GT-R R32, entering service in 1991 and immediately capturing enthusiasts' hearts. Notably, Autoart released a limited series of 6,000 miniature models that sold out instantly.

The Nissan R32 GT-R of the Japanese police was so beloved for its uniqueness that Autoart created a miniature model of it.

All generations of the Nissan GT-R were utilized for patrol duties, from the initial R32, through the R33, to the more recent R34 and the current R35 still in service in Tochigi Prefecture. Equipped with a powerful 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6 engine producing 565 hp, the days when street racers could evade capture easily are now long gone.

The GT-R R35 donated by Nissan to the Tochigi Prefecture Police is not only used to catch speeding violators but also participates in road safety awareness events.

Besides Nissan, the Japanese police also deployed a truly special Honda model that few could have imagined wearing the classic black-and-white highway patrol livery: the NSX. Featuring a centrally-mounted 3-liter DOHC V6 engine producing 280 hp, this vehicle also served in Tochigi Prefecture. The NSX transitioned from the hands of Ayrton Senna at Suzuka to uniformed officers, deterring speed-related traffic violations.

Imagine the astonishment of the Japanese in 1992 when Honda donated an NSX to the police, at the time Japan’s most expensive car.

Even rotary-engine vehicles wore police uniforms, thanks to the Mazda RX-7, utilized across various generations by the Hiroshima, Kyoto, Niigata, and Tochigi prefectures for challenging pursuits.

What does this story teach us? That automobiles inherently embody the desire for speed. The Mid Night Club's dissolution in the late 1990s inspired video games and movies such as Fast and Furious, significantly influencing Japanese automotive culture and sparking global interest in tuning and car customization.

Mazda RX-7 with a rotary engine in Japanese police livery. Notice the bug-deflector shield on the hood, a common feature across patrol cars.