Wanted Suspects (found Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department commercial; 1970s)

A screenshot of actual video.

Status: Found

Date found: 26 Oct 2023

Found by: 1977POP

In February 1970, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department designated "Wanted Suspects Investigation Month," and as part of this effort, the public was asked to cooperate through a television commercial. The commercial was aired during station break slots on five television networks, but it is not known when or how long they were airing.

The commercial became known on April 27, 2002, when a user mentioned it in a thread about a spooky commercial created on the anonymous message board website 2ch. The commercial was discussed often in other threads about spooky commercials, but some of the characteristics of the commercial content were different.

Information

The commercial, discussed in the April 27, 2002 thread, begins with a phone ring. The voiceover says, "This is call 110." and the narrator reads out the details of the wanted suspect. The commercial ends with the words, "This is a request from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. and the commercial ends. Yet another user in the same thread talked about the commercial, which begins with the sound of a police car siren. A picture of the wanted suspect's face is shown, and his name, description, and other details are read out by a male narrator. The narration concludes with the words, "This is a request from the police. This criminal is currently on the run. If you recognize this face, call 110." According to the user, this commercial aired about 20 years ago when he was watching cartoons in the evening. A user on the May 6, 2006 thread also mentioned a commercial that begins with the sound of a police siren and testified that the background was blue.

On January 7, 2008, a user on a thread said that a black screen showed a rotating light of police car with sirens blaring and a male voice narrating, "This is an announcement from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department." The narrator then reads the suspect's name, the nature of the crime, and the suspect's physical description, and ends with the words, "Please report to the nearest police box or police station."^[1]

Transcription of audio

Omoshiro Hanbun (Half Serious), a magazine published from January 1972 to August 1980, ran a feature article entitled Gendai Fuzoku Shiryo - TV CM Maru Ichi Nichi (Contemporary genre materials - A full day of TV commercials) in 1975 and 1979, in which only the commercial portion of one day's TV broadcast was transcripted. Among the transcripts of the commercial portion of the February 5, 1975 Mainichi broadcast was a commercial for a wanted suspect.^[2]

Around 9:30 a.m.

警察庁からのお願いです。(Suspect's name)36才、匕首による殺人の容疑者。身長165センチ、髪が赤い。この顔見たら110番。

Little after 12:00 p.m.

総理府からのお知らせです。
2月は全国指名手配被疑者捜査強化月間が全国的に実施されています。全国都道府県の警察から指名手配されている被疑者は現在およそ7千100名。これらの被疑者は殺人強盗などの凶悪犯をはじめ、暴行傷害恐喝などの粗暴犯あるいは窃盗などいろいろな犯罪を犯し警察からゆくえを追求されている者で、これからも犯行を繰り返す恐れもあり皆さん方が平和な生活を送る上に大きな脅威となっています。
このため毎年2月を全国指名手配被疑者捜査強化月間に定め、とりわけ凶悪な被疑者をリストアップして重点的に捜査を行うことにしています。去年の2月に行われた強化月間でも警察庁で重点被疑者を9名、都道府県指定で重要被疑者を1306名指定しました。この捜査強化月間中だけでごらんのような成績を上げることができました。
警察では手配書を各警察署や交番の掲示板また皆様の目につきやすい駅車内に張り出して皆様方の御協力をお願いしています。手配書の写真に見覚えのある方犯罪について何か知っている方、たとえ小さな事でも警察へ知らせて下さい。総理府からのお知らせでした。

The translation is as follows.

Request from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. (Suspect's name) 36 years old, suspect in murder by dagger. 5'5", red hair. If you see this face, call 110.

This is a notice from the Prime Minister's Office.
February is National Wanted Suspects Investigation Enhancement Month nationwide. There are currently approximately 7,100 suspects wanted by the police in all prefectures in Japan. These suspects have committed a variety of crimes, including murder, robbery, and other heinous crimes, as well as assault, injury, extortion, or theft, and their whereabouts are being sought by the police, and they are at risk of repeating their crimes in the future. This poses a serious threat to your peaceful life.
For this reason, we have designated February of every year as National Wanted Suspects Investigation Enhancement Month, during which we list and focus on heinous suspects. During last February's Investigation Enhancement Month, the National Police Agency designated 9 priority suspects and 1,306 important suspects were designated by prefectural governments. We were able to achieve the results you see during this month of intensified investigations alone.
The police have posted the wanted list on bulletin boards at police stations and police boxes, as well as on trains, where they can be easily seen, and we ask for your cooperation. If you recognize any of the photos on the wanted list or know anything about the suspects, even if it is a small matter, please let the police know. This was a notice from the Prime Minister's Office.

Availability

Because VHS tapes and other media were not generally available in the 1970s, it has become very difficult to find recordings from that time. However, these commercials may have also aired in the early 1980s.

On October 26, 2023, YouTube user 1977POP uploaded a video recording of a variety show from the 1970s called Ginza NOW! that included a commercial for a wanted suspect.