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Japanese Police & Gaijin

I was involved in an accident just a couple of days ago up in Fukushima. I was sitting at a full stop at a T intersection waiting to turn left onto the main road when a woman in a gigantic Toyota SUV making a right turn into my road decided that she would just go ahead and turn into my lane while she was at it. Up until that point I was driving a Subaru Rex (kei). I say up until that point because I never drove it again. She totalled it. The blame assessment went down at one hundred percent her and zero percent me.

Within a short time of calling we had a nice, friendly, competent policeman on the scene. After about 10 more minutes, we had another. Ten minutes after that we had a another pair pull up in a van. Total of three police vehicles and four nice, friendly, competent policemen.

I do wonder how all the self-styled anarchist cop-hating foreigners manage to come to Japan and have such bad experiences with the cops. I have had numerous dealings with them on various matters over the course of a quarter-century and I don't seem to run into the a-holes. Gee.....I wonder why. Maybe it has something to do with not approaching them with my a$$ on my shoulders.
 
I was involved in an accident just a couple of days ago up in Fukushima. I was sitting at a full stop at a T intersection waiting to turn left onto the main road when a woman in a gigantic Toyota SUV making a right turn into my road decided that she would just go ahead and turn into my lane while she was at it. Up until that point I was driving a Subaru Rex (kei). I say up until that point because I never drove it again. She totalled it. The blame assessment went down at one hundred percent her and zero percent me.

Within a short time of calling we had a nice, friendly, competent policeman on the scene. After about 10 more minutes, we had another. Ten minutes after that we had a another pair pull up in a van. Total of three police vehicles and four nice, friendly, competent policemen.

I do wonder how all the self-styled anarchist cop-hating foreigners manage to come to Japan and have such bad experiences with the cops. I have had numerous dealings with them on various matters over the course of a quarter-century and I don't seem to run into the a-holes. Gee.....I wonder why. Maybe it has something to do with not approaching them with my a$$ on my shoulders.

I had a similar experience in a smaller town where my family is from and in Kyoto. Talked to them in a normal voice, offered my logic, issue solved both times. A good friend of mine became an honorary cop to help with a local awareness program. I think they basically represent the average with Japanese society when it comes to tolerance.

Maybe its something to do with tokyo cops being more cynical with foreigners... then again I kinda doubt it. Attitude is everything, and if you go in trying to mislead or deceive a cop (whether it be in japan or elsewhere) you're more than likely to incur their interest or enmity.
 
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