[/floatr]The Yokohama chapter of the Guardian Angels announced recently that they have been given a new patrol van by a group of businesses and local associations. Not earth-shattering news but it made me curious about the current state of the organization since I haven't noticed them around much. It seems they are faring very well. This is from the Wiki entry: "A local organisation of the Guardian Angels was formed in Japan in 1996...Official acceptance culminated with a meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in 2005. The Guardian Angels were the first community organization in Japan to ever be awarded non-profit status."
I must have been asleep when this photo-opportunity took place. Taro didn't miss it.
The US Angels website lists 29 local Japanese chapters. Their own website also has an English version, which is a little dated, but the Japanese version suggests they have around 500 active members nationwide. The success in Japan is really down to the efforts of Keiji Oda who was with the Angels in New York but was inspired by the tragedy of the Kobe earthquake to encourage volunteerism in Japan. The idea of a US volunteer corps, designed to counter chronic inner city crime, catching on in Japan may seem odd. However, Japan has a long history of civic groups patrolling the streets, clearing away litter and promoting road safety so the Angels sensibly aligned themselves with that tradition. Oda believes that there are around 26,000 local groups around the country involved in some form of crime prevention activity.
Older FG Threads on the Angels in Japan here and here.
