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The National Police Agency has six regional police bureaus, each responsible for a number of prefectures. They are located in major cities of each geographic region.
Metropolitan Tokyo and the island of Hokkaido are excluded from these regional jurisdictions and are run more autonomously than other local forces, in the case of Tokyo, because of its special urban situation, and of Hokkaido, because of its distinctive geography.
The National Police Agency maintains police communications divisions in these two areas to handle any coordination needed between national and local forces.
Regional Police Bureaus (RPB) are subordinate to the NPA.
