The National Police Agency (警察庁, Keisatsu-chō?) is an agency administered by the National Public Safety Commission of the Cabinet Office in the cabinet of Japan, and is the central coordinating agency of the Japanese police system.
Unlike comparable bodies like the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, the NPA does not have any police officers of its own. Instead, its role is to determine general standards and policies, although in national emergencies or large-scale disasters the agency is authorized to take command of prefectural police forces. Policy for the NPA in turn is set by the National Public Safety Commission.
Minamisanriku (南三陸町, Minamisanriku-chō?, "South three land") is a town in Motoyoshi District, Miyagi, Japan. It is a resort town on a coastline of wooded islands and mountainous inlets. It has an area of 163.74 square kilometres (63.22 sq mi), and as of October 1, 2004 the population of the area was 19,170. The town was formed through a merger on October 1, 2005, when the towns of Shizugawa and Utatsu, both from Motoyoshi District, merged to form the new town of Minamisanriku.
Minamisanriku was largely destroyed by the Japanese 2011 tsunami, with most buildings swept away by waves of 16 metres (52 ft) or more, and over half the town's population missing and almost certainly dead. If and when confirmed, the loss of life in this one small town would form a very significant percentage of the total nationwide Japanese death toll from the tsunami.