Missing persons reports in Japan

[paraph]

A "little" detail indeed, but surprisingly hard to research.

When: Modern day
Where: Tokyo, Japan
Who: Adult Male

My question is this:

In Japan,(specifically Tokyo) how much time must pass after an adult male citizen goes missing, before friends or family can file a missing persons report?

For that matter, can a friend, acquaintance, employer, etc,

Comments

[busaikko]

According to my local police department (Osaka Police, but the laws are national), a missing persons report can be filed by relatives, spouses, caretakers, and also by coworkers or roommates.

There is no time limit given, which makes sense, as obviously some cases will need to be addressed immediately ("My father with Alzheimer's wandered off from the nursing home") while others will probably be asked to wait a while ("My husband and I had a fight and he didn't come home last night"). The police would probably take into account any recent troubles (with the yakuza, with gangs, crime, etc.) and any signs of preparation or not (if they left without wallet, cell phone, suitcase, etc. it seems more like foul play than premeditation).

In order to file the report, you need the person's name, honseki (where the family register address is), address, work, birthday, etc.; their height, body type, hair style, blood type, etc.; their clothing and personal effects when they went missing; the time and place they went missing and any circumstances at that time; anything else useful for finding that person; and a picture.

ETA: The Tokyo Police are pretty unhelpful; the page basically says that you need to report the missing person to the jurisdiction of that person's address (if they lived in Shinagawa 2-chome, then the Shinagawa 2-chome Police), and that if that jurisdiction is far away you can consult at your local jurisdiction (i.e., if you live in Nagasaki and your student son goes missing in Tokyo, you can consult in Nagasaki). *However*, one thing that might be useful to you is that as of April 2010 the form that needs to be filed in Tokyo is no longer called the 「捜索願」 (Request for Search) but is renamed 「行方不明者届」 (Report of Missing [Whereabouts Unknown] Person).

[paraph]

Thank you! That's a great bit of information to have.