Is the gaijin card ethical?

mad pierrot · 25 Sep 2005

I'm not referring to the alien registration card that foreigners residing in Japan are required to carry. (Although that is a great topic.) When I say gaijin card I mean using your status as a foreigner to get special treatment generally not granted to Japanese citizens.

Case in point: Recently a friend of mine was pulled over for speeding. Of course the first thing the police officer asked for was his driver's license. As it happens, my friend doesn't have a license. He only had an international permit which expired a year ago. My friend, who speaks decent Japanese, pretended not to understand what the police officer was asking. So, he intentionally continued to act confused, and showed the police officer other documents he didn't ask for. Eventually, the police officer was so exasperated he gave up, warned him not to speed, and let him go.

In fact, I find that feigning ignorance is probably the most common thing I see other foreigners doing in tight situations.

My question: Is it acceptable?
My suspicion is many long term or permanent residents, such as MikeCash, would find this behavior as unacceptable, since it perpetuates the sterotypical image of foreigners that many Japanese people have. (Detrimental towards their efforts to show that not all gaijin are incapable of functioning on their own in Japan.)

Well, waddya think?

Mike Cash · 25 Sep 2005

You suspect correctly in my case. Others have opined that I could use such a tactic. I find the idea loathsome.

Mikawa Ossan · 25 Sep 2005

Although my friends (let me be clear that I mean Japanese friends) and I make jokes about using the gaijin card, I find it incredibly offensive to actually do so. I have very little respect for such a person.

Maciamo · 25 Sep 2005

What if the person truly does not understand Japanese (because they are newcomers) ?

I personally have never thought of using such tricks, because I would find it shameful to admit having been 4 years in the country and not understand Japanese. At best I would question the authorities' right to ask for any document (i.e. ask the police officer to show me a proof that he/she is not just a civilian disguised in police officer, as 'cosplay' is a very common thing in Japan). Anyway, I think that anybody, even natives could play the "gaijin card". It would be pretty easy for a Japanese who speaks Chinese or Korean to pretend being a Chinese or Korean that doesn't understand a word of Japanese. Maybe in the end it's always less clever or less persistent party that loses. If police officers could at least know the basics (such as "driving licence") in a few languages (English, Chinese...), such situations wouldn't happen.

In a city like Tokyo that have 300,000 registered foreigners (just Tokyo-to, without Saitama, Kanagawa, etc.) without counting the millions of annual tourists or short-term business visitors, I think it's not too much to request police officers to know a few phrases in a few languages, or at least have some kind of police phrasebook with them. After all, everybody seem to be studying English and passing TOEIC tests in Japan - why not the police, who have good chances of dealing with foreigners, as they see them as more suspects than the locals (or just when asked for directions at the Koban). So I have no sympathy for these police officers who get duped for being too poorly qualified to do their job. Where I come from police officers are seen as people who cannot do anything better than that job, but at least they should be bilingual or trilingual.

I won't play dirty games like that with them because I have too much pride, but if others wish (even Japanese people), go ahead. Make fun of Japanese policemen on my behalf !

Revenant · 25 Sep 2005

I have pulled it unintentionally. I forgot to put on my seatbelt, and asking for my license, I gave them my valid International Driver's permit. I really didn't speak much Japanese, and they probably didn't want to go through the hassle of paperwork for a minor offence, and they simply told me to put my seatbelt on.

I simply do my best to follow the laws here, and I certainly don't think I would ever need to intentionally pull the Gaijin card.

Yeah, I can understand it's usefulness, but it isn't exactly ethical.

mad pierrot · 25 Sep 2005

Make fun of Japanese policemen on my behalf !

I would, with great pleasure.

I'm inclined to argee; I think it's counter productive to resort to such tricks. On the other hand, I'm honest enough to admit that if I was faced with dire enough circumstances, I might cave in.

Here's something I found interesting: Arudou Debito using his gaijin card. He admits, weirdly enough, of lying to a police officer. The Champion of Gaijin Rights and Freedoms in Japan is guilty in the same way as my friend. He pretended not know Japanese after getting pulled over for speeding.

Here's his response:

Alright, stop snorting in disgust, dear reader. The reason I was playing possum was not so much to escape (although I've heard from three different sources that switching from genius to dumb gaijin can ease your getaway), but I wanted to see what would happen. Would I get any different treatment from any other offender?
Guess what? No. Why? No, they didn't have an interpreter ready. The dozen of them mustered up what English they could and of course came up with the word raisensu. I handed it over. They looked at my particulars and quickly surmised: "You've been here eight years. You speak Japanese."
I played dumb for quite a while afterwards, but it always surprises me how egalitarian Japan can become when I least want it; a language barrier suddenly comes into play when *I* want something, like service at a store, but not when *they* want something, like my blood.

Maciamo · 25 Sep 2005

If you want to be sure they do not even come up with a few English words, just have to start speaking another language (French, German or whatever). Not a chance they will even bother trying with English.

Brooker · 26 Sep 2005

I must admit that I've pulled the gaijin card. I was out drinking in Shizuoka City and had to catch the last train home to Fuji City, where I lived. The last train was an express and I didn't want to pay for it, so I bought a regular ticket and snuck onto the express train. The ticket taker found me and although I knew exactly what I had done and I understood everything he said, I pretended that I didn't understand and that I had just made a mistake and gotten on the wrong train. I think I even spoke entirely in English just to make it a little more believable. I'm so ashamed. I know I'm a terrible gaijin. I can't remember exactly, but I think he made me pay the extra money for the express ticket.

On that note (and not that it excuses anything) but all the gaijin I knew in Japan regularly ripped off the Japanese train system. This horrifies Japanese people, because to my knowledge, they're pretty honest about not ripping off the trains.

We're all going to gaijin hell. :kaioken:

Revenant · 26 Sep 2005

For some offences, like the guy in the first post who was pulled over for speeding but didn't have a valid IDP, I can see pulling the gaijin card to avoid some of the harsh repercussions.

I also didn't have a valid IDP, it had just expired recently, but circumstances had me driving my son to kindergarten. I got into a very minor fender bender. The scratch I put into a Japanese woman's bumper was less than a cm long, and easily buffed out. But my wife thought it best we report it to the police. The Japanese woman wanted to drop the whole issue, but police policy is to follow up on any accident, regardless of whether the people said it was all sorted out (in the context of some of the intimidation that takes place, it might make sense). They discovered my license wasn't valid, and I really couldn't play the gaijin card with my Japanese wife as translator. I knew my IDP was invalid. In short, I lost the ability to drive one year in Japan, paid just over 300 000 yen in fines, and had to attend a special driving course that had me in a class with a young guy who had been caught speeding too often, and an older man caught drinking and driving. Skid car and some of the tests and simulations were actually fun, but the fine!

The option of the gaijin card might've been nice then. Evil gaijin that I am.

Brooker · 26 Sep 2005

Revenant said:
I lost the ability to drive one year in Japan, paid just over 300 000 yen in fines,

Wow man, that's a big fine! :bikkuri:

Index · 26 Sep 2005

I've never used the gaijin card trick per se, but I have pretended to not be able to speak Japanese on a couple of occasions with minor traffic offences and it's gotten me off, but on relflection I think it was not so much the police officers being stupid or inept with English, but because it was such a small issue that it was more hassle than anything else for them-aside from getting through the conversation, they would probably have had to go through a lot more extra paper-work in the case of a foreigner with an international licence than for a local. I think that in more serious cases language, or even the gaijin card trick, wouldn't be helpful. When a friend and I 'borrowed' a bicycle one time in urayasu for instance, our lack of any practical Japanese was no barrier to being held at a police station for about five hours and my friend getting fingerprinted. The form my friend had to sign in order to be released and 'pardoned' was perfectly translated into English on the reverse side.

Brooker · 26 Sep 2005

Index said:
I've never used the gaijin card trick per se, but I have pretended to not be able to speak Japanese on a couple of occasions with minor traffic offences and it's gotten me off,

But that's a perfect example of using the gaijin card trick. It usually only works for small things. You can't murder someone and then pretend you can't speak Japanese. ☝

Maciamo · 26 Sep 2005

I have never been in trouble like you guys have. I have had any traffic problem, never 'borrowed' bicyles or anything else - and I am not just talking about Japan.

The only time I had to pay the "limited express" surcharge, I was pretty angry because my wife and I had bought our ticket at the counter (not at the vending machine) asking exactly how much that was for that particular train, but still had to pay almost as much as the original ticket price because it was 'not included' in the ticket's price, the controller said. So I (and my Japanese wife) actually felt cheated on that one (either the controller of the counter guy was lying). As for the bikes, if you have read other threads on the topic you probably know that I have been checked times and again (7x so far) by the same area's police officers in the same neighbourhood, on the same distinctive bike (no front or back basket like all other Japanese bikes). So again, I was the victim rather than the abuser.

Gaijinian · 26 Sep 2005

Maciamo, you are a model gaijin.

nice gaijin · 26 Sep 2005

I didn't spend enough time there to get in any trouble, but this topic makes me wonder about some of the stories I hear about gaijin who get out of trouble by playing (or actually being) dumb versus the gaijin who do understand japanese and get the book thrown at them when they let this be known.

Perhaps playing dumb to get out of a little trouble is just as unethical as the authorities that give the fluent foreigners a hard time. Not that either one is right, but I'm not so sure if I could resist the urge to play possum if I got into a tight spot; something tells me that if I let on that I understood Japanese it would only land me in bigger ****. Though I'm not so sure I could pull it off after living there for a few years...

deadhippo · 26 Sep 2005

4 years without playing the gaijin card - intentionally at least
i doubt i will ever have to

on the other hand i have dealt with situations where I behaved as a foreigner
such as getting a refund at a shop and refusing to pay a surcharge on a flight
i got my way but in japanese

Mike Cash · 26 Sep 2005

Brooker said:
On that note (and not that it excuses anything) but all the gaijin I knew in Japan regularly ripped off the Japanese train system. This horrifies Japanese people, because to my knowledge, they're pretty honest about not ripping off the trains.

Then your knowledge must not include the term "kiseru".

Mike Cash · 26 Sep 2005

Revenant said:
I also didn't have a valid IDP, it had just expired recently, but circumstances had me driving my son to kindergarten.

No sympathy here. It's not that hard to do the right thing and get a Japanese license.

Mike Cash · 26 Sep 2005

Maciamo said:
The only time I had to pay the "limited express" surcharge, I was pretty angry because my wife and I had bought our ticket at the counter (not at the vending machine) asking exactly how much that was for that particular train, but still had to pay almost as much as the original ticket price because it was 'not included' in the ticket's price, the controller said. So I (and my Japanese wife) actually felt cheated on that one (either the controller of the counter guy was lying).

Did you ask for that particular train? Or did you ask for the particular destination and just assume the counter guy knew you meant the express?

I know it's hard for you to realize you could be in error on anything, but it is really unbecoming to accuse the railroad staff of lying to you. What possible reason would they have to lie about it? Anyway, tickets are clearly marked with the charges for the basic fare and for the express surcharge (when applicable).

Mike Cash · 26 Sep 2005

nice gaijin said:
Perhaps playing dumb to get out of a little trouble is just as unethical as the authorities that give the fluent foreigners a hard time.

I don't want to lump myself in with the "fluent foreigners", but....

Anecdotes of (self-assessed, self-professed) fluent foreigners being unethically given a hard time by authorities are, in my opinion, vastly exaggerated.

Ewok85 · 26 Sep 2005

I think once, when I was drunk, lost, and had nowhere near enough change I did a dodgy with trains. But remember this, if you do play the gaijin card, don't come whinging when people treat you like an idiot later on, because you are only helping to perpetuate the stereotype that foreigners are dumb and can't speak Japanese.

Index · 26 Sep 2005

You'd have to have pretty high standards to consider talking your way out of a speeding etc. fine unethical, wouldn't you say?

Revenant · 26 Sep 2005

mikecash said:
No sympathy here. It's not that hard to do the right thing and get a Japanese license.

Actually I wasn't looking for sympathy, but relating from personal experience why I can understand playing the gaijin card, as the guy mentioned in the first post did. That guy saved himself quite a bit of money and hassle.

Yeah, I'm quite aware what the proper thing to do is, and I was quite aware that some people would probably be critical, I can handle that, otherwise I wouldn't have posted in the first place.

nice gaijin · 27 Sep 2005

mikecash said:
I don't want to lump myself in with the "fluent foreigners", but....

Anecdotes of (self-assessed, self-professed) fluent foreigners being unethically given a hard time by authorities are, in my opinion, vastly exaggerated.

That's pretty plausible, usually the best stories are embellished... I suppose I'll have to wait until I get into a tight spot before I can really comment with any authority on the subject... not that I'm ever looking for trouble!

Mike Cash · 27 Sep 2005

Index said:
You'd have to have pretty high standards to consider talking your way out of a speeding etc. fine unethical, wouldn't you say?

No. Just common dignity and self-respect.

Is the gaijin card ethical?

Is it right to take advantage of your gaijin card?

Yes, it is.

No, it isn't.

It depends on the circumstances.

I jump to conclusions

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いかんわ！

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