Dogs help Tokyo police fight crime for over a century

Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police Department has been accompanied by police dogs since the organization became the first in Japan to introduce them in police activities back in 1912.

While the role of police dogs has since changed due to the availability of DNA testing, security cameras and other tools of technology, the loyal companions have remained beside the MPD, which celebrated the 150th anniversary of its establishment last month.

The police dog system is said to have begun in Germany at the end of the 19th century.