Glenski said:
I can't help myself Glenski and I know your views on Debito and what he is trying to do. Although we have our differences, I respect your views, but must post my opinion here.
Here again we have another troll and another uninformed, inexperienced wannabe "Debito disciple" looking to impose their racist views on other foreigners that the Japanese police are racist and discriminatory because they ask for ID. Just by using the word "pig" for the police shows his racist views. Is he from the 70's or what?
If he had done a simple search he would see that this subject, as well as Debito, has been covered time and time again and is just looking to stir up trouble or he is young, dumb, and inexperienced. His profile says he lives in Japan, but it also says he has never been to Japan. One would think that a person wishing to state such incendiary views would at least know how to fill out a simple profile.
One must remember, as others have stated above, the Japanese police have every right to ask you for your ID whenever they feel like it and for whatever reason regardless of what the law states. If you don't like it or find it offensive and discriminatory, leave already! You are not in your home country anymore so don't expect the same rights.
He has been asked for his ID three times. Big f--king deal! There are others here who have been asked more than 10 times. Some have a problem with it and others don't. Just because one does not have a problem with it does not make them weak IMO. What's the problem? You are in a foreign country for gosh sakes and you stand out like a sore thumb. Why not save yourself a lot of hassle and just show it to them? What are you trying to prove? That you have rights and are better than the Japanese because you are a foreigner and that you should not be asked for your ID to prove you are in the country legally?
You are a foreigner a "
gaijin" a "
gaikokujin" and if you can't stand the heat get the hell out of the kitchen. If you are going to live in Japan you better get used to it or you will end up like the countless of other foreigners I have known who live in a country they despise and hate, but have no where else to go and refuse to learn the language and culture.
I lived in Japan more than 15 years and have been arrested and not allowed to speak to anyone, not even a lawyer, for two weeks. I have been taken in for not having my gaijin card on my person when asked, and I have been asked a few times for ID when riding my bicycle and I never once thought I was being singled out or discriminated against. In all cases I was treated with the utmost respect by the Japanese police even when I was in jail. I broke their laws and I understood it!
Also, I have never been barred from re-entering Japan as others have been. Why? Maybe it was because I had a Japanese wife or maybe it was because I understood the laws and customs, as well as the language, and abided by them even when it came to apologizing before a court for my youthful indiscretions and never tried to prove that I had "rights" because I was American. Maybe it was a combination of both.
Get used to it! Living in Japan as a foreigner, as others will attest to, and being asked for your ID is a fact of life. It always has been and always will be. It has not changed in more than 50 or more years and never will in the near future. Also, you will never change it regardless of what you say or how much you protest, or what international law is or what the birth rate is. The fact remains that Japan is a sovereign nation and they have the right, whether you like it or not, to ask you for your ID or to take you in for questioning if they so desire.
Japan's laws do not have to conform to your country's laws and if you don't like it tough sh-t! You can b-tch and moan all you want as I have seen others do these nearly 40 years and still nothing has changed. What you cry about has been cried about for as long as I can remember and still it remains the same. What makes you think you can change it? Debito never has. Japan will only change when Japan wants to change and not because you or others demand it.
Is it right? Not in my opinion and based on the way I was brought up and taught to believe. However, I understood I was not living in my country and the laws are different. But the fact remains that Japan is Japan and not the US or Northern Europe and they will abide by their own laws, not yours or mine.
In my case I understood it and learned to live with it and it made my stay in Japan that much more better and I never had the feelings you have or others have concerning the Japanese police. Knowing their laws and the fact that they will probably never change in the near term, I still plan to retire there shortly and will not try to change Japan or their laws as I expect to be asked now and then for my "
gaijin" card when riding my bicycle or just walking the street. To me, as much as I may disagree with it being American, you may disagree, but it shows me they are doing their job.
If you think the Japanese are racist in asking for your ID just try coming here to the US these days and try and ask the police for their ID when they ask for yours as they will at their discretion, or try and ask them for their ID when they stop you for a traffic stop and search your car with no warrant. You'll find yourself in jail faster than you can imagine. Would that be discriminatory or racist in your view?