Editing Inspector Japp

{{Use British English|date=November 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox character
| name               = James Japp
| image              = Philip Jackson - Poirot.png
| image_upright      = 1.15
| caption            = [[Philip Jackson (actor)|Philip Jackson]] as Japp in ''[[Agatha Christie's Poirot]]''
| first              = ''[[The Mysterious Affair at Styles]]''
| creator            = [[Agatha Christie]]
| portrayer          = [[Melville Cooper]]<br>[[John Turnbull (actor)|John Turnbull]]<br>[[Maurice Denham]]<br>[[David Suchet]]<br>[[Philip Jackson (actor)|Philip Jackson]]<br>[[Kevin McNally]]
| occupation         = [[Chief inspector]] of [[Scotland Yard]]
| nationality        = British
}}

'''Inspector James Japp''' (later '''Chief Inspector Japp''') is a fictional character who appears in several of [[Agatha Christie]]'s novels featuring [[Hercule Poirot]].<ref name="Maida"/>

==Creation==
Inspector Japp was inspired by the fictional police detective [[Inspector Lestrade]] from the [[Sherlock Holmes]] stories by [[Arthur Conan Doyle]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Mitzi M. |last=Brunsdale |page=146 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p2zTtMxkExgC&pg=PA146 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2010 |isbn=9780313345319 |title=Icons of Mystery and Crime Detection: From Sleuths to Superheroes [2 volumes]: From Sleuths to Superheroes}}</ref> Christie even modelled Japp after the "ferret-like" qualities of Lestrade.<ref name="Maida">{{cite book |title=Murder She Wrote: A Study of Agatha Christie's Detective Fiction |last1=Maida |first1=Patricia D. |last2=Spornick |first2= Nicholas B. |pages=167–168 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PoNmBplXH6sC&pg=PA167 |isbn=9780879722159 |publisher=Popular Press |year=1982}}</ref> In the first novel in which Japp appears, ''[[The Mysterious Affair at Styles]]'', he is described as a "ferret-faced man",<ref name="Styles">{{cite book |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/863 |via=Project Gutenberg |title=The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie |access-date=14 July 2020}}</ref> which is similar to the description of Lestrade as a "ferret-like man" in Doyle's 1891 short story "[[The Boscombe Valley Mystery]]".<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1661 |title=The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle |via=Project Gutenberg |access-date=16 July 2020}}</ref>

==Appearances==
Japp has been depicted in seven novels written by Christie, all featuring [[Hercule Poirot]]:<ref name="Zemboy">{{Citation
| last =Zemboy
| first =James
| year =2008
| title =The Detective Novels of Agatha Christie: A Reader's Guide
| pages = 101, 107, 167, 177
| publisher =McFarland
| isbn =978-0-7864-3914-0
| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=RIBz9x6BPZkC}}</ref>
*''[[The Mysterious Affair at Styles]]'' (1920)
*[[The Big Four (novel)|''The Big Four'']] (1927)
*''[[Peril at End House]]'' (1932)
*''[[Lord Edgware Dies]]'' (1933), also known as ''Thirteen at Dinner''
*''[[Death in the Clouds]]'' (1935), also known as ''Death in the Air''
*''[[The A.B.C. Murders]]'' (1936), also known as ''The Alphabet Murders''
*''[[One, Two, Buckle My Shoe (novel)|One, Two, Buckle My Shoe]]'' (1940), also known as ''An Overdose of Death'' and ''The Patriotic Murders''. This is his last appearance in any work by Christie, although he is briefly mentioned in two later works.

In most of these appearances, Japp is a minor character with minimal interactions with Poirot or involvement in the plot. He also appears in the short story "The Flock of Geryon" (see ''[[The Labours of Hercules]]'').

Japp emerges however as a major character and partner to Poirot in ''Lord Edgware Dies''. He returns in this capacity in ''Death in the Clouds'' and ''One, Two, Buckle My Shoe'', before being written out of the series. In number of appearances, Japp is comparable to [[Arthur Hastings]] who was featured in eight of the Poirot novels.<ref name="Zemboy"/>

Inspector Japp is also briefly mentioned in the [[Tommy and Tuppence]] book ''[[The Secret Adversary]]'' (1922); his card is brought to Julius Hersheimmer at the end of chapter five. In chapter seventeen of ''[[The Murder of Roger Ackroyd]]'' (1926), Japp is mentioned by a police superintendent to Poirot as having asked after him. Japp is mentioned by Poirot in ''[[Death on the Nile]]'' (1937), and by Colonel Weston in ''[[Evil Under the Sun]]'' (1941), the next book in the Poirot series after his final appearance. Japp is also mentioned in the novel ''[[Taken at the Flood]]'' (1948) by Superintendent Spence during a conversation with Hercule Poirot.

Japp's career in the Poirot novels extends into the 1930s but, like Hastings, he disappeared from Christie's writing thereafter. A police officer somewhat similar in character (Superintendent Spence) was introduced as a significant recurring character in the later Poirot novels.

Japp appears in Christie's stage play [[Black Coffee (play)|''Black Coffee'']], written in 1929. He remarks to Poirot that it has been a "long time" since they last met, in connection with "that Welsh case", which is not otherwise identified.<ref name="Black Coffee">{{cite book|last=Christie|first=Agatha|title=Black Coffee: A Mystery Play in Three Acts|year=1934|publisher=Samuel French|location=New York|isbn=978-0-573-61885-7|page=92}}</ref> Japp also appears in [[Black Coffee (novel)|Charles Osborne's novelisation]] of ''Black Coffee''.

Like those of Miss Lemon and [[Arthur Hastings]], the role of Inspector Japp in Poirot's career has been exaggerated by adaptations of Christie's original novels, specifically by the TV series ''[[Agatha Christie's Poirot]]'', where these characters are often introduced into stories that did not originally feature them.

==Characteristics==

Inspector Japp has a tendency to jump to conclusions, and to accept simple solutions to cases.<ref name="Zemboy"/> However, he becomes a more competent and respected police detective over time, eventually earning a promotion to Chief Inspector and demonstrating his capability in this position.<ref name="Maida"/> He respects Poirot's abilities but is sometimes rude to him, though over the years, he becomes more of a friend to Poirot and works more closely with him. Japp sometimes accuses Poirot of "making things difficult" when Poirot contradicts a solution which Japp believes is correct; however, when Japp is proved wrong, he acknowledges his mistake and makes remarks such as "you're the goods!" to Poirot. In ''One, Two, Buckle My Shoe'', the last novel in which he appears, Japp visits Poirot at his flat to apologise after doubting him and to tell Poirot he was right.<ref name="Zemboy"/>

When off duty, Japp is an "ardent botanist", according to Hastings in the 1923 short story "[[The Market Basing Mystery]]".<ref>{{cite book |last=Christie |first=Agatha |title=Hercule Poirot: The Complete Short Stories |publisher=William Morrow Paperbacks |isbn=978-0062251671 |page=187 |chapter=The Market Basing Mystery |year=2013}}</ref> Japp is described as "little, sharp, dark and ferret-faced" in the 1920 novel ''The Mysterious Affair at Styles'',<ref name="Styles"/> and as a "little ferret-faced fellow" in the 1923 short story "[[The Kidnapped Prime Minister]]".<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/61262 |via=Project Gutenberg |title=Poirot Investigates by Agatha Christie |access-date=20 July 2020}}</ref>

==Portrayals==
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:David Suchet - Japp.png|thumb|[[David Suchet]] as Japp in the [[1985 in film|1985 film]] ''[[Thirteen at Dinner (film)|Thirteen at Dinner]]'']] -->
The role of Japp is played by [[Philip Jackson (actor)|Philip Jackson]] in the British TV series ''[[Agatha Christie's Poirot]]'', where [[Hercule Poirot]]'s character is played by [[David Suchet]]. Before Suchet took on the role of Poirot, he had previously played Japp himself in the [[1985 in film|1985 film]] ''[[Thirteen at Dinner (film)|Thirteen at Dinner]]'', where [[Peter Ustinov]] played Poirot. Philip Jackson portrays Japp as working-class and 'thoroughly British', not very intelligent but an extremely diligent, canny and active police officer with a good but rather dry sense of humour, characteristics which often serve as a perfect [[Foil (literature)|foil]] to Poirot's personality, who is intelligent, elegant, upper-class but rather slow in movements and of a very serious nature.

In the same television series, Japp is already a Chief Inspector in the first episode,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b79c087d2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710162025/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b79c087d2 |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 July 2018 |publisher=British Film Institute |title=The Adventure of the Clapham Cook (1989) |access-date=20 July 2020}}</ref> his full name is James Harold Japp according to the episode "The Chocolate Box",<ref>{{cite web |url=https://subslikescript.com/series/Agatha_Christies_Poirot-94525/season-5/episode-6-The_Chocolate_Box |website=Subs like Script |title=The Chocolate Box – Full Transcript |access-date=20 July 2020}}</ref> and he has been promoted to Assistant Commissioner by the time he appears in the episode "The Big Four".<ref>{{cite book |title=Agatha Christie on Screen |page=278 |last=Aldridge |first=Mark |date=21 October 2016 |publisher=Springer |isbn=9781137372925 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UeZODQAAQBAJ}}</ref>

Philip Jackson is also one of the actors who played Japp in the [[BBC Radio]] adaptations of Poirot stories, produced contemporaneously with the Suchet TV series and starring [[John Moffatt (actor)|John Moffatt]] as Poirot.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC Programme Index |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/d2d86d6c4de84ea8b42315276f4693bc |access-date=2022-11-21 |website=genome.ch.bbc.co.uk|date=22 April 2000 }}</ref> In the radio dramatisations, Inspector Japp was played by [[Norman Jones (actor)|Norman Jones]] in ''Lord Edgware Dies'' (1992), by Philip Jackson in ''The ABC Murders'' (2000), ''Death In The Clouds'' (2003), ''One, Two, Buckle My Shoe'' (2004), and ''The Mysterious Affair at Styles'' (2005), and by [[Bryan Pringle]] in ''Peril at End House'' (2000).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/0f6b170d980d43608e1d8c18272b3262|title=Lord Edgware Dies (1992)|website=BBC Genome: Radio Times|publisher=BBC|date=2020|access-date=31 March 2020}} See also other episode listings on BBC Genome.</ref>

Japp is played by [[Melville Cooper]] in the [[Black Coffee (1931 film)|1931 film adaptation]] of Christie's stage play [[Black Coffee (play)|''Black Coffee'']].

As the inspector's name is spelled similarly and pronounced in the same way as the ethnic slur [[Jap]], he was renamed {{Nihongo|Inspector Sharp|シャープ警部|Shaapu-kebu}} in the Japanese [[anime]] series ''[[Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple]]'' ([[NHK]], 2004).

In the ''[[Professor Layton]]'' series of puzzle video games for the [[Nintendo DS]] and [[Nintendo 3DS]], the fictional [[Scotland Yard]] chief inspector Chelmey appears visually and contextually as a comically incompetent caricature of Inspector Japp as played by Philip Jackson.

A retired Japp is played by [[Kevin McNally]] in ''[[The ABC Murders (TV series)|The ABC Murders]]'' (2018); the series starts with Japp dying of a heart attack, and a recurring sub-plot is Inspector Crome, Japp's protege, expressing distrust of Poirot as he feels that working with Poirot ruined Japp's career.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.agathachristie.com/christies-work/detectives/chief-inspector-japp/119 Inspector Japp]{{Dead link|date=January 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} at the official Agatha Christie website

{{Hercule Poirot}}
{{Agatha Christie}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Japp, Inspector}}
[[Category:Fictional British detectives]]
[[Category:Fictional British police detectives|Japp, CI]]
[[Category:Hercule Poirot characters|Japp, CI]]
[[Category:Agatha Christie characters|Japp, CI]]
[[Category:Literary characters introduced in 1920|Japp, CI]]
[[Category:Characters in British novels of the 20th century]]
[[Category:Characters of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction]]
[[Category:Fictional English people]]
[[Category:Male characters in literature]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Metropolitan Police officers]]