What's new

What ARE your legal rights in Japan as a foreigner?

Wow, thank you very much Pachipro for the story. It's possible to look up the details, but personal stories like this and experience adds to the details a lot.
 
I was not deported and even though I left the country that same year because I planned to, I was still allowed back into the country every year since.

A similar thing happened to a friend. Wasn't deported, but left on his own accord. Next time he tried to come back in he was denied. Apparently he has to get the visa before making the trip.
 
GaijinPunch said:
A similar thing happened to a friend. Wasn't deported, but left on his own accord. Next time he tried to come back in he was denied. Apparently he has to get the visa before making the trip.
If he has a Japanese wife he should have no problem I think. However, if he was single, he may just find out that he will not be allowed back in for some time as the naquaintance I mentioned above found out. Please let us know how he fares if he is a single person. It will be good info.

I also just read that Wakanoho, a Russian Sumo wrestler, was arrested for posession of marajuana when he lost his wallet and a joint was discovered in in it by the police when it was politely turned in.

I wonder what punishment he will receive? Will he be deported? Will he be allowed to stay? They say he was a minor (19) at the time of the loss, so I wonder if he will be given lieniency. Does anyone think he will be kicked out of sumo?

I wonder what his legal rights were? Was he allowed access to a lawyer before questioning? Was he held for days with no one knowing where he was? Was he allowed a phone call? I know I wasn't and I wonder if he was given preferential treatment? If anyone knows, please post it here. Thanks.
 
I also just read that Wakanoho, a Russian Sumo wrestler, was arrested for posession of marajuana when he lost his wallet and a joint was discovered in in it by the police when it was politely turned in.
I wonder what punishment he will receive? Will he be deported?

Hmmm... I would hope absolutely nothing happens. With any simple sort of legal reasoning, if your positions are lost and in the hands of someone else for a certain amount of time, then turned in (especially when you are a well known celebrity who may not be liked by all), anything in it should not be for a second considered submittable as evidence.

Under that logic, you could steal anyone's wallet, drop a bit of hash in, and bam they are out of the country. Not for a second should that hold up in court or even be arrest worthy.
 
Marijuana in Japan.... stupid, stupid, stupid.

Foreigner with marijuana in Japan. STUPID, STUPID, STUPID.
 
Glenski said:
Marijuana in Japan.... stupid, stupid, stupid.

Foreigner with marijuana in Japan. STUPID, STUPID, STUPID.

Taiko666 said:
Draconian marijuana laws in Japan ... STUPID, STUPID, STUPID
Agreed on both counts, but a single foreigner getting caught in Japan with Draconian marajuana laws and knowing it....STUPID, STUPID, STUPID. Say bye-bye to Japan forever.
 
I agree with Pachipro as well. I'm curious though, with such strict laws how does it even find its way in and who controls it. I guess if the Yakuza are using it to fund who knows what, you can understand a SMALL degree why it might be so controlled. Considering the number of absolutely plastered people with no idea how to drink at all in Japan I can't imagine marijuana doing too much damage...
 
Emoni, most of it (in my experience) was home-grown from up north in Hokkaido or in speed and meth labs locally. The stuff from Thailand and Asia (Thai sticks/ 'Buddha Weed'/Hashish) was flown in mostly by foreigners under most unusual circumstances and picked up at the airport. The Yakuza had almost nothing to do with weed. They mostly controled speed and heroin. At least back in the day that's how it was which is why I am speaking in the past tense. Things may have changed these many years. However, I do know for a fact that the weed is still mostly grown up north nad readily available if you know where to look. BTW marajuana does far less damage than alcohol, but alcohol is legal and marajuana illegal. Go figure.
 
Interesting, I guess it would make sense that it would be one of those that would be easily grown by just about anyone in the outskirts. While I'm not one to promote drug use, I have yet to see a legitimate reason to oppose marijuana either. Especially since it would probably keep Japanese people from wandering the streets or driving them drunk.

I'm all for questioning the laws on certain things and the punishment balancing with the supposed crime. Marijuana is one of those that in many countries doesn't quite balance out at all.

Of course, at the same time messing with Marijuana in Japan is just begging for trouble obviously. Honestly, it sounds like most of the situations were pretty light compared to what could have been done to those caught in Japan.
 
Not all foreigners here are from the marijuana friendly countries. And some of you may think you will find your next step to other countries.

Many countries request you to submit police records from any countries you stayed/lived in. So I don't think it is a good idea to narrow down your American/European dream in the future, though I don't know how friendly those countries are for your past marijuana-related crime records in other countries.

Be more practical for yourself.

*snip
If I remember correctly, some threads related to the glass have already been somewhere here. And this thread is not about your illegal rights, I presume.
 
I just came back from Japan, I had been reading stuff on this forum I thought frequently I would be stopped by policemen, I had my passport with me everyday when I went out, but being Asian they never asked for it. I think when an Asian has lived abroad in western countries for 15 years I lost my traits. The Japanese people on this thread were so sure they could tell the Chinese apart from the Japanese but when I was in Japan after they found out I wasn't Japanese they would ask where I came from instead of saying were you Chinese. Anyway I was not born in China so I am not a real Chinese as in the ones from China. I think they had no clue who I was. 😊
 
wow after reading all that i am seriously reconsidering ever visiting Japan because i have a bit of anxiety and anger problems and if such a thing were to happen it would be almost impossible for me to not lose my cool and the reason i have these problems, lets just say its something or things that happened in the past that's all.
though i really do wish i were able to visit Japan but after reading this it might not be good for my health.
 
I just came back from Japan, I had been reading stuff on this forum I thought frequently I would be stopped by policemen, I had my passport with me everyday when I went out, but being Asian they never asked for it. I think when an Asian has lived abroad in western countries for 15 years I lost my traits. The Japanese people on this thread were so sure they could tell the Chinese apart from the Japanese but when I was in Japan after they found out I wasn't Japanese they would ask where I came from instead of saying were you Chinese. Anyway I was not born in China so I am not a real Chinese as in the ones from China. I think they had no clue who I was. 😊

I've been in Japan 10 years (MIKE CASH!) and have never been asked to produce ID once. I've heard it was a little more common in the big cities, particularly where crime occurs, but I don't think this is a common experience. I've only ever heard of it on web forums, and not from anyone I've ever met.
 
I mean it's the same in any country right. As a foreigner, we're guests here. It's like the guard NPCs in those old RPG games used to say (Fable, among others comes to mind):

Obey the law. I feel very little sympathy for the weed heads that came to Japan expecting to get away with their poor habits whilst abroad. And yeah if some Russian guy went thru American TSA with weed, he'd probably get a free cavity search, detention, possibly interrogated by the NSA and maybe even locked in jail for 20 years or deported.

Oh noes, the police stop foreigners on their bicycles. Don't ride a bicycle then, or have your proper paperwork at all times. And pay your taxes, ya dirty English teaching hobos.
 
Can't imagine how long you've been in Japan by the naivete in your response.

Same in any country? Well, theoretically yes, but in reality, no.

Oh noes, the police stop foreigners on their bicycles. Don't ride a bicycle then, or have your proper paperwork at all times.
Not an option to stop riding bike for some, and it doesn't matter if you have your paperwork on you. The point is profiling, or didn't you get it? Some people get stopped multiple times, yet Japanese can get passed by on such things, as people report anyway. And then there are the "no foreigner" signs.

Japan signed the 1998 (?) treaty against discrimination, in case you didn't know, however it has yet to enact a single law to enforce it.
And pay your taxes, ya dirty English teaching hobos.
I'll skip over the part about teachers, since they aren't the only foreigners working here, but you should be more careful with your wording. As for the part about paying taxes, that's a point I'll agree with you.

As for being "guests" here, well, that's a point of view to some of us, especially those who've spent 20+ years here and/or gotten Permanent Resident status and/or married a Japanese and decided to stay. Guests leave. Big diff.
 
I honestly didn't see any targeting of gaijins during my 9 years living in Japan .... in cities and inaka.
Got stopped 3 times on my bike - once for a broken light, once when I was so drunk I could barely pedal!!! and one 'random' check.
Got pulled over twice for speeding and about a dozen times for random DUI checks.
Each and every time I was treated politely and with respect ... I responed in kind, answered their questions and showed my ID - no problem.

On one occasion I did not have ID and just gave them my details and presented it next day at the station as requested - no problem.

I have seen Japanese stopped in exactly the same way countless times. A lot of Gaijin have thin skins and a bit of a complex if you ask me.

I have no issue with being asked for ID if you are not a citizen ... see nothing wrong with that - in most countries Police will do this - I don't understand the aversion some people have with it.
 
Thing is a lot of foreigners here (even long-term) ones jump to the "it's because I am gaijin" thing. I've heard exactly one racist thing in Japan the entire time I was here. Most Japanese are lovely people and really like foreigners living here.
 
I honestly didn't see any targeting of gaijins during my 9 years living in Japan .... in cities and inaka.
Fine, that's your experience. But I've seen plenty of reports on discussion forums from foreigners with those profiling issues. So, you were lucky. (Me, too, if that's any consolation.)

A lot of Gaijin have thin skins and a bit of a complex if you ask me.
I won't argue with that, but from some of the reports I've seen, they have a right to be upset.

I have no issue with being asked for ID if you are not a citizen ... see nothing wrong with that - in most countries Police will do this - I don't understand the aversion some people have with it.
Police in Japan must have a reason to suspect you of a crime in order to ask for your ID, in case you didn't know.
 
I haven't had any problems, though I respect the people who have and agree that there's a right to be upset.

On the other side of the coin, the reports are only one side of the story. I've seen plenty of foreigners here acting bizarrely within the context of Japanese culture, even if it is normal behavior in their own culture. So I don't think it's a stretch that some people would complain that they 'did nothing wrong' prior to being accosted, while actually having aroused concerns in all around them.

We just had a poster here talking about smacking cigarettes out of people's hands and not even considering the possibility that this could be inappropriate. What if in a few weeks he posts that he was doing nothing wrong and the police stopped him for no reason. Would you lean towards his story being accurate? What about other stories wherein you don't have the relevant knowledge of the ways in which the teller tends to act?


Sent from my fingers using the internet.
 
I was "randomly" stopped many times and given the shakedown over the course of a year. I commuted to work on a bike, and was once stopped several times in one week on the same corner. I wasn't breaking any laws, but being a foreigner on a bike is apparently enough to suspect me of a crime.

I was once riding with a Taiwanese friend and passed a Koban. He was ahead of me and sailed past without a second look; I was stopped by the officer, and when my friend circled back, the he remarked "oh, you're together," and proceeded to run both of our registrations. His bike was left at his apartment by the last tenant (we had the keys and everything), but the name on the registration wasn't the same. They almost exploited my friend's lack of fluency to get him to sign a confession that he was in possession of stolen property.

Profiling does happen. For a caucasian American, it's a rude awakening to what minorities and people of color have to deal with all the time. It's ironic how sensitive we can be to perceived prejudice and rail against this injustice, once it directly affects US. That's white privilege in a nutshell.
 
It's ironic how sensitive we can be to perceived prejudice and rail against this injustice, once it directly affects US. That's white privilege in a nutshell.

Oh, white people are very, very sensitive to this stuff. Possibly due to having rolled their eyes at others complaints most of their lives.
 
For a caucasian American, it's a rude awakening to what minorities and people of color have to deal with all the time. It's ironic how sensitive we can be to perceived prejudice and rail against this injustice, once it directly affects US. That's white privilege in a nutshell.

I think there is some real truth to this. Lately I've been learning more Japanese language and realizing that while I spent a lot of time believing "Japan is bad to foreigners" most of it is just a perception problem. We get away with a lot here as white foreigners, certainly more than the average person. I leave work most days "on the dot" and nobody often gets upset about it.

Then again, I'm one of those people that lives here and has literally no Japanese friends -- and truthfully, I don't really want any. There's a lot of expectations of social conformity in Japan sometimes, and if you're the sort of American person that doesn't give a crap about that sort of thing, it tends to really, really upset the locals a lot.
 
Back
Top Bottom