What ARE your legal rights in Japan as a foreigner?
- Thread starter Emoni
- Start date
- 19 May 2007
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I hardly see what he said as an insult. He was expecting better Japanese, and he does have quite a bad "namari" (No I am not trying to insult him)
This has brought another question I thought could be relevant, how often do you think someone could be from another country other than yours when they don't speak your language very well even though they could possible a citizen of your country? (I am talking about when you are in your country of birth)
- 5 Feb 2005
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questioning competion by police
debito on TV(ﾂ債ｷ窶｢ﾃ岩?堙ｰﾂ食窶堋｢窶｢ﾂｨ窶堙俄?堋ｵ窶堙??敖ｽ窶愿ｺﾅ?ﾋ??慊ｮ窶堙ｰ窶堋ｷ窶堙ｩﾅ陳ｳﾆ但ﾆ陳?椎?ﾆ谷ﾂ人)
His japanese is poor more than I expected
Police doesn't question to only foreigners
Can't see what his Japanese level has to do with the thread....
I see two links with interesting video's, but I can't understand it because my Japanese is probably lower than the Debito guy... so how about a summary what the video is about?
- 19 May 2007
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The first video is a training video for police on how the effectively use the the "shokumu" law when apporching a suspicous person.
The second vid is about how Dave made a protest about police using "shokumushitumon" as a form of racism. Dave then speaks about how he may not look like a Japanese ,but is in fact Japanese. The news then goes on about his protest being about him(dave) claiming that he was asked for his id just b/c he looks foriegn. So Dvae made submitted a protest about what standards are being used by police when using "shokumushitumon". He said "we should not be treated like terrorists just by the way we look". In response the police said that that only use "shokumushitumon" when is neccesary regardless of being foriegn or Japanese.
That was a very basic outline of what was on the vid.
I don't know,but you have have been one of the most vocal in this thread but don't seem to answer valid questions that do pertain to the content of this thread.
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orochi
便利屋
- 1 May 2004
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Does it really need to be locked? If people follow the proper course on this thread and take tangents to their own threads, things should work out on their own.
Charles Barkley
TNT Basketball Analyst
- 14 Jun 2007
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You are citing a JREF poll? Are you kidding? That poll is in a Japanese learners forum on a website perhaps primarily frequented by those living outside of Japan, many of whom are kids who just came on the cite because they are into anime. ﾅ?ﾂｨ窶｢ﾃ吮?堋ｵ窶堙??堋ｭ窶堙ｪ窶堙ｦﾂ。
Emoni
先輩
- 20 Sep 2003
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- Thread starter
- #136
We don't need any more threads rashly locked. If it is related to legal matters, that is perfectly fine. Yes there is a bit of distraction here, that is obvious, but enough to shut down a perfectly good thread? There has been way too much of that on JREF lately anyway.
Instead of calling for locking, why not post something to help get it back to what you feel is on topic instead? For example "What DO you do if you run into a problem with a cop or someone who is clearly abusing their role, for example the cop that was stopping one of the poster over 100 times. How would you handle an issue like that? I would assume you can't just record video of an incident, they'd want you to turn that off, and your word against theirs wouldn't work well certainly."
Frustrateddave and caster, I'll ask you as the original poster of the thread, could you please veer a bit more in the direction of the legal topic instead of bashing some guys Japanese?
- 20 Aug 2003
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Emoni,
I believe I have posted quite a bit on-topic here. The only reason I called for a lock was to temporarily stop people from going off-topic. Ideally, people would start threads on their own, but realistically, they prefer to stay and... uh... argue.
What would I do? It all depends on the situation at the time. What I feel right now may differ in real-life circumstances. I would FEEL like asking the police officer for his badge number and his boss. I would pull out Debito's bilingual message about the law which says I cannot be asked for ID without just cause. (During the G-8 summit period, I felt that would have been just cause, by the way, but even though I went through the Chitose airport near Sapporo 1 and 3 days prior to the summit and saw a plethora of security guards, I was not approached once.)
You (Emoni) can't really ask for more than you have, IMO. You want people to talk about what the law is to protect foreigners, and we have bantered around the issue. The laws are made to protect everyone, but just by sheer virtue of some posters' experience (or reference to other people's experiences), we have seen how the law can be skirted or abused by the police. By itself, that is unfair. What can be done about it? Not much.
1) Nothing. Foreigners can sit and take it (or leave the country). Yeah, I know how each of these sounds, but let me finish the list.
2) A little. Foreigners can politely ask (like Debito did at the airport) about why they are being interrogated. In his case, he was justified in not showing ID, and in other people's cases where they don't have naturalization as a defense, they can gently point out the letter of the law yet comply with the request for ID. They might even go a step further and politely (yes, I keep repeating that word) file a complaint for all the good it will do (as we have seen in Debito's case).
3) A little more. They can join Debito's cause strongly and protest openly (yet still politely and legally).
I don't really see any more options. Perhaps most foreigners do #1 and b!tch about the whole situation privately (or on forums). An occasional one will do #2 and #3.
Does the thread really have to go any further? That is, Emoni, what more information do you want?
If we're going to talk about foreigners' reading ability, I say that should be another thread. Personally, talk about foreigners skipping past local issues in the Yomiuri or Japan Times (I assumed Mike meant the English version) is off-topic (way off if we consider only the English versions). Talk about foreigners' ability to speak Japanese is equally off-topic in the sense it has been thrown out here.
As for Debito's level of Japanese, don't judge him by one video with many cameras in his face. I have no idea how well he speaks the language, but he admitted on his web site (or another forum, I can't recall) how nervous he gets in front of a camera, and he even said he used broken Japanese in that particular interview. Besides, as Dutch Baka pointed out, it's irrelevant to this topic.
So, Emoni, what more do you want us to talk about here?
I believe I have posted quite a bit on-topic here. The only reason I called for a lock was to temporarily stop people from going off-topic. Ideally, people would start threads on their own, but realistically, they prefer to stay and... uh... argue.
What would I do? It all depends on the situation at the time. What I feel right now may differ in real-life circumstances. I would FEEL like asking the police officer for his badge number and his boss. I would pull out Debito's bilingual message about the law which says I cannot be asked for ID without just cause. (During the G-8 summit period, I felt that would have been just cause, by the way, but even though I went through the Chitose airport near Sapporo 1 and 3 days prior to the summit and saw a plethora of security guards, I was not approached once.)
You (Emoni) can't really ask for more than you have, IMO. You want people to talk about what the law is to protect foreigners, and we have bantered around the issue. The laws are made to protect everyone, but just by sheer virtue of some posters' experience (or reference to other people's experiences), we have seen how the law can be skirted or abused by the police. By itself, that is unfair. What can be done about it? Not much.
1) Nothing. Foreigners can sit and take it (or leave the country). Yeah, I know how each of these sounds, but let me finish the list.
2) A little. Foreigners can politely ask (like Debito did at the airport) about why they are being interrogated. In his case, he was justified in not showing ID, and in other people's cases where they don't have naturalization as a defense, they can gently point out the letter of the law yet comply with the request for ID. They might even go a step further and politely (yes, I keep repeating that word) file a complaint for all the good it will do (as we have seen in Debito's case).
3) A little more. They can join Debito's cause strongly and protest openly (yet still politely and legally).
I don't really see any more options. Perhaps most foreigners do #1 and b!tch about the whole situation privately (or on forums). An occasional one will do #2 and #3.
Does the thread really have to go any further? That is, Emoni, what more information do you want?
If we're going to talk about foreigners' reading ability, I say that should be another thread. Personally, talk about foreigners skipping past local issues in the Yomiuri or Japan Times (I assumed Mike meant the English version) is off-topic (way off if we consider only the English versions). Talk about foreigners' ability to speak Japanese is equally off-topic in the sense it has been thrown out here.
As for Debito's level of Japanese, don't judge him by one video with many cameras in his face. I have no idea how well he speaks the language, but he admitted on his web site (or another forum, I can't recall) how nervous he gets in front of a camera, and he even said he used broken Japanese in that particular interview. Besides, as Dutch Baka pointed out, it's irrelevant to this topic.
So, Emoni, what more do you want us to talk about here?
- 19 May 2007
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Sigh... Charles where is your evidence that the people who voted on those polls had not already been to Japan? And heck, what is anyone doing when it comes to another language, learning perhaps, even those in Japan? Thanks for your insight... You know what the problem is with foriegners judging other foreigners Japanese ability, most of them can't speak reasonable Japanese so anyone who seems better than them MUST be good. But yet if to be evaluated by a native speaker they may still only have basic vocab and speaking skills.
@Emoni, you should be one to speak, throw in a "red herring" here and there, I won't say absolutely every one, but most of your posts are quite unproductive. Are you going to answer my question in that other thread yet or do you hate being proved wrong?
@orochi and Emoni ,If people where to properly rebutt questions in a debate like some members instead side stepping them, things most likely stay on topic, what wrong with saying "I don't know" or "I was wrong"?
Emoni
先輩
- 20 Sep 2003
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- Thread starter
- #139
I didn't say I and others didn't mention other things as well, I'm just asking for help in steering it a bit back to a more productive direction. That's all.
As for Glenski's call to lock a thread (again). Just because a thread bends a bit, or you feel it can't continue or "should be over" doesn't mean the thread needs to be LOCKED. There has been far too much locking as it is. Some of the best thread on this forum have gone on for a long time and sometimes a year later someone adds more information. This lock demand at the flip of a switch has really got to stop...
As for what more there is to talk about, just keeping it to legal related things is fine. Veering off towards cutting down how a foreigner speak Japanese, as Orochi said, isn't really fair or related. There is plenty to talk about. Such as interpretations of the laws, rights groups that exist in Japan, stories that may appear in the future related to this. Again, jumping to lock a legitimate thread is totally inappropriate and premature.
As for Glenski's call to lock a thread (again). Just because a thread bends a bit, or you feel it can't continue or "should be over" doesn't mean the thread needs to be LOCKED. There has been far too much locking as it is. Some of the best thread on this forum have gone on for a long time and sometimes a year later someone adds more information. This lock demand at the flip of a switch has really got to stop...
As for what more there is to talk about, just keeping it to legal related things is fine. Veering off towards cutting down how a foreigner speak Japanese, as Orochi said, isn't really fair or related. There is plenty to talk about. Such as interpretations of the laws, rights groups that exist in Japan, stories that may appear in the future related to this. Again, jumping to lock a legitimate thread is totally inappropriate and premature.
- 20 Aug 2003
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Emoni,
#1, I was calling for ONLY a temporary lock. Not permanent.
#2, the points you mentioned that were discussed here (interpretations of the laws, rights groups that exist in Japan, stories that may appear in the future related to this) are all relevant to the topic that you started. However, discussions about foreigners' language ability, reading newspapers, etc. are pretty wide of the mark here.
You and I feel differently about what content should be on threads. If I read the subject line, I have a feeling for what is there, not what tangents are there. If threads are allowed to diverge from the topic and expand into several pages on that tangent, how is anyone to know just from the subject line? Moreover, how is anyone to know where certain topics are being discussed if they are NOT in a thread with a related subject line? This is my only complaint.
You can feel safe, though, in that no moderator has locked this thread yet.
However, I put quite a bit of effort into writing my previous post, and once again, you didn't even respond to the simplest, most direct question. Could you please do that so the rest of us have something to go on and can actually contribute to the thread with relevant info?
My question was: what more do you want us to talk about here?
#1, I was calling for ONLY a temporary lock. Not permanent.
#2, the points you mentioned that were discussed here (interpretations of the laws, rights groups that exist in Japan, stories that may appear in the future related to this) are all relevant to the topic that you started. However, discussions about foreigners' language ability, reading newspapers, etc. are pretty wide of the mark here.
You and I feel differently about what content should be on threads. If I read the subject line, I have a feeling for what is there, not what tangents are there. If threads are allowed to diverge from the topic and expand into several pages on that tangent, how is anyone to know just from the subject line? Moreover, how is anyone to know where certain topics are being discussed if they are NOT in a thread with a related subject line? This is my only complaint.
You can feel safe, though, in that no moderator has locked this thread yet.
However, I put quite a bit of effort into writing my previous post, and once again, you didn't even respond to the simplest, most direct question. Could you please do that so the rest of us have something to go on and can actually contribute to the thread with relevant info?
My question was: what more do you want us to talk about here?
- 19 May 2007
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The exact thing I have been saying all along. But don't hold your breath Glenski.
I want to address the lack of Japanese ability issue and why I think it is relevant to this thread.
Firstly an officer cannot possible know what your ability is like just by looking at you ,so what I am talking about is after you have been stopped or if you have been asked something from someone from the law.(remember people getting stopped on bikes is not the only thing here)
If you lack the necessary skills to converse with an officer things are going to get more complicated, for one the officer may not be getting answers to his/her questions. Now this could be interpreted many ways, but certainly makes things more difficult for the police and foriegner alike. Things can be misinterpreted, especially if you have people reacting the way they would at home and this leads to the police having more suspicion, even if the foreigner is co-opreating in his/her own way. (I feel this is only natural and has nothing to do with racism). On the other hand if you have someone who speaks perfect or almost perfect Japanese, misinterpretations are kept to minimum and if you are co-operating and you have done nothing wrong then no doubt you will be on your way a lot faster than someone who does not speak Japanese in the same set of circumstances.
My point is if you can't convey yourself in this countries language I think you you prepare yourself accordingly. It is not feasable to have a translator with every officer and nor should they have to.
But still people kick a fuss b/c they were detained ect ,ect. So I feel language has a lot to do with this thread.
- 20 Aug 2003
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Dave,
Just how does one "prepare accordingly"? What sort of phrases and expressions should a traveler (or even short-term resident) plan to memorize/learn? I think this is being a little unrealistic. Too many possible situations and too much vocabulary.
Yes, some cops may take your lack of Japanese ability the wrong way, but what would they expect to gain by bringing you "downtown" if you can't understand them? They would probably just toss out the few English words they know (Passport! Passport!) and shrug you off if communication becomes impossible. Of course, if there were some situation where you HAD to do some communication, but then we are back to planning for a lot of contingencies.
Therefore, I think the language issue is irrelevant to the topic one's legal rights as a foreigner. Just my opinion.
Just how does one "prepare accordingly"? What sort of phrases and expressions should a traveler (or even short-term resident) plan to memorize/learn? I think this is being a little unrealistic. Too many possible situations and too much vocabulary.
Yes, some cops may take your lack of Japanese ability the wrong way, but what would they expect to gain by bringing you "downtown" if you can't understand them? They would probably just toss out the few English words they know (Passport! Passport!) and shrug you off if communication becomes impossible. Of course, if there were some situation where you HAD to do some communication, but then we are back to planning for a lot of contingencies.
Therefore, I think the language issue is irrelevant to the topic one's legal rights as a foreigner. Just my opinion.
Emoni
先輩
- 20 Sep 2003
- 1,779
- 67
- Thread starter
- #143
Glenski, a "temporary lock" isn't necessary nor is this thread going out of control. If there is still much to be gained by a thread, or even if there isn't, it shouldn't result in a lock. Lock is when things spiral out of control totally from what I have seen. Not even close to this thread. As for what to discuss, please see my previous response. Also, please see FrustratedDave's post below.
Thank you for clarifying your statement FD, I now agree by what you mean (however I still don't see the cut down of Debito's Japanese as related). Language ability can have a GREAT deal to do with how a situation with police go. I can say that every time I arrived in Japan for study or returned, if I spoke in Japanese (even if not that great) and explained why I was in Japan I would get a bit of a change in reaction or a better "connection" with the officer in the airport/security. I'm curious of how MUCH of the issue of legal rights is related to language though... as that seems mostly based on misunderstandings rather than the following of the law.
Thank you for clarifying your statement FD, I now agree by what you mean (however I still don't see the cut down of Debito's Japanese as related). Language ability can have a GREAT deal to do with how a situation with police go. I can say that every time I arrived in Japan for study or returned, if I spoke in Japanese (even if not that great) and explained why I was in Japan I would get a bit of a change in reaction or a better "connection" with the officer in the airport/security. I'm curious of how MUCH of the issue of legal rights is related to language though... as that seems mostly based on misunderstandings rather than the following of the law.
- 19 May 2007
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If you have your alien card or passport on you and you have done nothing wrong, I imagine the officer will look at the card or passport and move on.
But what I am talking about is when someone is suspected of something and the police are asking questions. And if this situation arises and you have done nothing wrong ,if you can't answer them you should not expect them to not treat you like a suspect. This is where I see so many people whinning about unfair treatment in Japan b/c they were detained for so many hours when they did nothing wrong. All we get is half the story and anyone who is quite fluent at Japanese now will be able to look back and see just how much misunderstanding you had in conversations ,but at the time still think that you understood everything perfectly. You can't expect the police to read you mind. At least they would try to speak English to you. My friend had a run in with some Italian Police and they would only speak Italian to him. In the end the consulate was rung and everything was sorted out. (Do I think of the Italians any less, absolutely not) So when I say prepare yourself accordingly I mean either learn Japanese well enough to converse or understand you are at the mercy of the law. But why be afraid if you have done wrong and I say it is the same the world around.
If you have your passport and all they are doing checking that you have the correct papers to be in Japan then I doubt very much they would take you down town. Does it have anything to do with your leagal rights? Yes it does, b/c if you can't answer the officers questions and they are suspecting something then your right to temporay freedom will come into jeopardy pretty fast. And when it does, don't go complaining that you were unfairly treated and had your rights violated, this is reality.
Note: When I say you I mean anyone who thinks this way.
- 19 May 2007
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Like I said before, misunderstandings can deprive you of your rights.
- 20 Aug 2003
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Dave,
We're going to have to agree to disagree on a point or two, and unless you or I know of specific instances, what you say is merely speculation IMO. Neither of us knows for certain what will happen if "someone is suspected of something and the police are asking questions. And if this situation arises and you have done nothing wrong".
You wrote that "misunderstandings (as a result of poor language fluency) can deprive you of your rights". No, the police or court system deprives you. Your poor language level only leads to it, and even so, there are cases where clear understanding of the language is not enough to stop police from doing what they want. Simple case is Debito's report from the Chitose airport where, despite his fluency and clear statements to the officer about his being Japanese, the officer asked him several times for his ID. A more complicated one and one with more far-reaching and serious tones is the false arrest and incarceration of a man, mostly because he was a foreigner and denied his rights. http://www.debito.org/?p=547 [I think this was the case. If not, it is still a case of heinous deprivation of human rights IN and out of jail.]
Emoni,
Your previous post only stated:
"There is plenty to talk about. Such as interpretations of the laws, rights groups that exist in Japan, stories that may appear in the future related to this."
I don't see any of that happening here. Speculation about language and the results, at best.
We're going to have to agree to disagree on a point or two, and unless you or I know of specific instances, what you say is merely speculation IMO. Neither of us knows for certain what will happen if "someone is suspected of something and the police are asking questions. And if this situation arises and you have done nothing wrong".
You don't know they would try speaking English to you. Plus, you seem to keep coming back to an ill-defined solution of being fluent in Japanese. I'm asking how fluent, but you don't answer. Nice sidestep, but it is a non-answer that I take for being unable to answer, which only weakens your case.
You wrote that "misunderstandings (as a result of poor language fluency) can deprive you of your rights". No, the police or court system deprives you. Your poor language level only leads to it, and even so, there are cases where clear understanding of the language is not enough to stop police from doing what they want. Simple case is Debito's report from the Chitose airport where, despite his fluency and clear statements to the officer about his being Japanese, the officer asked him several times for his ID. A more complicated one and one with more far-reaching and serious tones is the false arrest and incarceration of a man, mostly because he was a foreigner and denied his rights. http://www.debito.org/?p=547 [I think this was the case. If not, it is still a case of heinous deprivation of human rights IN and out of jail.]
Emoni,
Your previous post only stated:
"There is plenty to talk about. Such as interpretations of the laws, rights groups that exist in Japan, stories that may appear in the future related to this."
I don't see any of that happening here. Speculation about language and the results, at best.
Goldiegirl
先輩
- 10 Aug 2006
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What are your rights, well I for one have found it's best not to test your rights and follow the rules and the laws. I don't break them and don't have trouble. I have no great desire to test out the legal system of any country, my own included!
- 19 May 2007
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Of corse it is speculation, but it is just common sense that things could be cleared up much quicker if you know Japanese.
Huh??? Where did you ask how fluent someone needs to be, I recall you asking what kind of phrases would someone need to know? So I answered in my previous post, Quote by me "learn Japanese well enough to converse" . But if you want an answer to your new question,Which BTW is next to impossible to estimate, you have to be fluent enough to not misunderstand what you are being asked and be able to express yourself well enough for the other person get a full picture of what you are saying. So yeah , I would say you would have to know Japanese pretty well. Maybe a junior high school students level in speaking would be sufficient, which is pretty high. About the English point, when I was last pulled over for speeding, I was spoken to in English first. I answered in Japanese and from then on in not once did one of them try to explain anything in English. And for the purpose of the thread, my Japanese is the level of any other Japanese business man or women, no one knows I am not Japanese on the phone unless they know me, so it would be safe to say I have no "namari". Did this add to the reason why I why not asked for my alien card? I would say it was a very big factor.
Leading to your rights being violated or actually having your rights violated due to language deficiencies, I don't know which one is worse. In any case you get my point.
Yeah , and that situation could not have been avoided? yeah right.... but Dave was looking for something else, we all know he is an equall rights advocater and if thats what he wants to do I don't mind. I listened to the tape and his answers were all done up to bait the cop, now this is only spectulation but he could avoided the whole situation if he stated the law first and then if he felt neccessary explain that he was Japanese.
And that last link you posted, a very concerning case for sure. And I don't want post on his misfortune and I hope he gets justice. But did that article just prove at least one of my points?
My point about being able to covey ones self, is this not depriving his rights due to the fact that she could not answer the court sufficiently? An extra month incarceration? Or am I missing something here?
- 19 Jan 2005
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Whether you like it or not or whether you agree with it or not, your legal rights in Japan are whatever the Japanese government says they are.
As Frustrated Dave (along with a few others like Goldie Girl) mentioned, if a policeman asks you for your passport or alien registration card and knows no other English, and you have done nothing wrong, SHOW IT TO HIM/HER and I am sure you will be on your way. Does anyone know of any foreigner being taken to the police station for showing their passport/registration card and not making a fuss? If so, please relate it here. Even though the police apologized to me when I produced my gaijin card at my home, they still took me in because it was the law, and the law is the law. As much as I disagreed with it and though it foolish, it was STILL THEIR LAW!
Face it, whether you are a citizen or not, you are a foreigner, plain and simple, end of story. Whether you are white or black, or Middle Eastern or Indian the sole reason for your being stopped IS that you look different. How is a Japanese policeman supposed to know you are a citizen unless you show him a Japanese passport?
I would've had much more respect for Debito if he had on his person his Japanese passport and showed it to the police. I doubt very much he would've received much hassle after presenting it and may have even received an apology. But noooo, he had to make a stink about it to push his agenda that the Japanese are racist and prejudiced against foreigners.
Heck, even I am smart enough to know that if I became a Japanese citizen, I would always carry my Japanese passport with me just to lessen the hassle if I were stopped.
Japan is not a melting pot like America or Canada or a few other countries. As far as I know, Japan is still a nation of Japanese/Chinese/Koreans who all look alike. I'm sure there are many Koreans and Chinese who never get stopped in the same vein as other "outsiders". Anyone who looks different had better prepare themselves to be stopped anytime, anywhere, anyplace. And please don't feed me anymore BS that they are prejudiced/racist. They are just doing their job and if a foreigner shows up in a place where there are known to be many protests by foreigners, then they should not cry when they are stopped.
Even if you know no Japanese whatsoever, all you have to do is produce your "papers" and I'm sure you will be on your way. Make a fuss and a stink and "demand your rights" because you are American, or Canadian, or European, etc., or even a foreign-looking Japanese citizen, and refuse to show them a passport, and you will be in for a hassle you will soon regret.
I'm sure there are a helluva lot of other countries far worse than Japan when it comes to dealing with foreigners.
As Frustrated Dave (along with a few others like Goldie Girl) mentioned, if a policeman asks you for your passport or alien registration card and knows no other English, and you have done nothing wrong, SHOW IT TO HIM/HER and I am sure you will be on your way. Does anyone know of any foreigner being taken to the police station for showing their passport/registration card and not making a fuss? If so, please relate it here. Even though the police apologized to me when I produced my gaijin card at my home, they still took me in because it was the law, and the law is the law. As much as I disagreed with it and though it foolish, it was STILL THEIR LAW!
Face it, whether you are a citizen or not, you are a foreigner, plain and simple, end of story. Whether you are white or black, or Middle Eastern or Indian the sole reason for your being stopped IS that you look different. How is a Japanese policeman supposed to know you are a citizen unless you show him a Japanese passport?
I would've had much more respect for Debito if he had on his person his Japanese passport and showed it to the police. I doubt very much he would've received much hassle after presenting it and may have even received an apology. But noooo, he had to make a stink about it to push his agenda that the Japanese are racist and prejudiced against foreigners.
Heck, even I am smart enough to know that if I became a Japanese citizen, I would always carry my Japanese passport with me just to lessen the hassle if I were stopped.
Japan is not a melting pot like America or Canada or a few other countries. As far as I know, Japan is still a nation of Japanese/Chinese/Koreans who all look alike. I'm sure there are many Koreans and Chinese who never get stopped in the same vein as other "outsiders". Anyone who looks different had better prepare themselves to be stopped anytime, anywhere, anyplace. And please don't feed me anymore BS that they are prejudiced/racist. They are just doing their job and if a foreigner shows up in a place where there are known to be many protests by foreigners, then they should not cry when they are stopped.
Even if you know no Japanese whatsoever, all you have to do is produce your "papers" and I'm sure you will be on your way. Make a fuss and a stink and "demand your rights" because you are American, or Canadian, or European, etc., or even a foreign-looking Japanese citizen, and refuse to show them a passport, and you will be in for a hassle you will soon regret.
I'm sure there are a helluva lot of other countries far worse than Japan when it comes to dealing with foreigners.
- 19 May 2007
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I do agree with Pachipro.
