Keibōdan* /Civil Defense Corps/ was established on January 1, 1939 by Imperial Edict No.20 as an auxiliary volunteer force to the existing police, fire and air-raid organizations. In most villages, towns, and cities, the Keibodan was built around the previous community-based firefighting organizations. Male recruits were aged between 18 and 60 and received little or no pay, with only limited expenses available. Some money was paid to volunteers who were wounded in action, but this system was severely strained in 1944 and 1945.
Keibodan personnel were organized into various branches, known as arms, which performed different roles within the organization. The main arm was the Shobobu (fire arm), making up 40 percent of the overall force. There was also the Keibubu (guard arm), members of which were basically auxiliary policemen, making up 25 percent of the Keibodan. Because Keibodan units were recruited on a local basis their size could vary from as few as 50 members to as many as 5,000. Larger Keibodan units were Given the relative weakness of the it was decided to organize an auxiliary force to supplement both emergency usually designated as divisions, which were then divided into subunits. Smaller units, designated “arms,” were effectively different branches. Each arm was divided into squads and the area they were recruited from could be defined by a particular school or police district. If two Keibodan officers from different districts met it was not clear how their ranks compared in terms of seniority. One officer could be in charge of several thousand men while his colleague could command a few hundred or fewer. Reportedly, deputy armbands were worn denoting which officer of the same rank was in charge of a unit. As with everything else in the Keibodan, the proportion of other ranks to officers was flexible, with some 20-strong units having three group leaders. From late 1944 until the end of the war the Keibodan concentrated on its firefighting role.
Within the Keibubu were a number of branches that were given various responsibilities during USAAF air raids. There were Chianhan (political thought squads), the personnel of which were to deal with unpatriotic rumormongers and to report any defeatist talk to the authorities. Kotsu Seirihan (traffic-control squads) had the job of controlling traffic before, during, and after air raids. Fuhatsu Shonhan (unexploded-bomb squads) evacuated civilians from areas threatened by unexploded bombs rather than trying to defuse them. Kanshihan (observation squads) were aircraft spotters and worked alongside the Keihohan (alarm squads), which called the air-raid warnings; other members of the Keihohan rode through the streets on bicycles, announcing the appropriate alarm using megaphones when available. The other two air-raid-related squad types were the Toka Kanseihon (light-control squads), which dealt with the lights-out restrictions, and the Kosakshihan (labor squads), which helped clear up after an air raid. Yudohan (guide squads) were expected to lead civilians away from bombed areas or guide them to shelters before an air raid.
Keibodan was abolished in 1947.
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* Keibōdan = 警防團, where
警 (Kei) stands for 警察（Keisatsu=Police)/警戒（Keikai=Guard)
防 (Bo) stands for 消防 (Shobo=Fire Fighting)
團 (Dan) = Corps, Group, Team.