- 19 Jan 2005
- 1,972
- 232
OK, I have been following this post with interest since it started and, as far as the OP post is concerned and the link he posted, I'd have to say that someone has a grudge against the Japanese police for some reason as the website has not been updated, shows no authorship or reason for posting, and just seems to be a rant of some kind.
Of all the people answering this post, and who claim to know so much about the Japanese legal system based on heresay, how many can say they have actually been through the Japanese justice system from arrest to trial and conviction to speak with any authority?? I would guess no one or no one who has the balls to actually admit it and give their experience.
Lets' set the record straight. I have been through the system twice! Once for not have my gaijin card on my person and once for getting busted at my home with an illegal substance (0.025 gms of hashish. A miniscule amount!)
In the case of not not having my gaijin card on my person, I was not arrested, but was questioned severely for a few days and had to appear before a judge. You can read all about the details here. And, in the 16 years Iof lived in Japan, I was asked for my gaijin card maybe 4 times. It was just that one time that I didn't have it on my person that I suffered for it.
In the case of being busted, I was presented with a search warrant and the police were as polite as could be. Since I knew they would tear my apartment apart, I presented them with what they were looking for. I was arrested and taken away, but since I had my own private school and they were in plain clothes I was not handcuffed when we left the building as it was their suggestion not to "alarm the neighbors". Also, I guess they believed me as they did not search my home after they confirmed through portable lab analysis that it was indeed an illegal substance.
My wife was also arrested although she was completely innocent. My wife was held for 5 days and I was held for 14. No charges were pressed against my wife, but after 2 weeks I was charged and allowed to post bail.
Throughout the whole process which consisted of much interrogation as to the source and who else was using I signed a confession indicating that the "stuff" was mine. Also, throughout the whole process the police were always kind and respectful, as were the guards in the jail in Yokohama where I was held. Heck, they even let us smoke cigarettes and listen to the ball games at night. However, they were strict and you had better do as you were told and respect them back. I shared in a cell with another prisoner and had absolutely no problems with him or the guards.
We were fed three meals a day, allowed three baths a week., and were allowed to walk around and smoke if we chose to do so for two 15 min beaks per day. The guards even alloed us to smoke in our cells at night if we couldn't sleep. Other than that we were in our cells unless called for interrogation. Up at 7am and lights out at 10pm There was a library with books in Japanese, English, and French and we were allowed to read them in our cells even if we couldn't sleep at night.
No one was beaten or abused and the police kept their word in keeping my name out of the newspaper if I cooperated as I would've lost my school completely if my name was in the papers. They knew that and used it as a "carrot" to get me to be cooperative and honest. I sometimes wonder if I would've been treated as well in the US for such a "serious crime".
After indictment by the prosecutor I was allowed to post bail and was released. I continued with my school after telling them a "lie" that my father had fallen ill and I had to leave in a hurry.
The trial was held about six months later and I was convicted of posession and sentenced to 7 years hard labor, suspended for 3 years.
Since the three judges believed my sincere apology for breaking their law and promising them I would not do it again, I was allowed to stay in country and was not deported. Maybe it was because I had a Japanese wife. I do not know. But I knew of three other single people who were busted (2 people from the UK and one from the US) who were deported and forbidden to return for 10 years. I continued with my school and no one even knew I was busted. The Japanese police did indeed keep their word and I have been back to Japan once or twice a year since I left in 1988 and had no problems entering.
Now, whether abuses by the police occur outside of what I experienced I do not know, but I guess it does here and there as it does in any country, even here in the US. However, in my case, I have nothing but praise for the Japanese police for the way I was treated in both instances. They were polite, firm, and civil and, being in a foreign country, I expected the worse from all the "horror" stories I had heard.
However, I do believe that if one is arrogant and fights the Japanese police, thinking they have 'rights', they will be in for a shock, because in Japan, when one is arrested, you have no rights, and that includes a phone call to relatives to let them know what happened to you! Fight them and be uncooperative and you may just feel their boot.
If you are innocent do not sign any confession as they have to let you go after about 25 odd days without no proof or evidence. One must remember that they are in a foreign country and subject to their laws no matter how arcane they may seem to us in the west. Break the law and you suffer the consequences.
My case may be rare, but I tend to believe it is the norm as I never experienced, or heard from others arrested, any of the abuses mentioned in the OP. However, as I said, it does not mean they don't exist.
Of all the people answering this post, and who claim to know so much about the Japanese legal system based on heresay, how many can say they have actually been through the Japanese justice system from arrest to trial and conviction to speak with any authority?? I would guess no one or no one who has the balls to actually admit it and give their experience.
Lets' set the record straight. I have been through the system twice! Once for not have my gaijin card on my person and once for getting busted at my home with an illegal substance (0.025 gms of hashish. A miniscule amount!)
In the case of not not having my gaijin card on my person, I was not arrested, but was questioned severely for a few days and had to appear before a judge. You can read all about the details here. And, in the 16 years Iof lived in Japan, I was asked for my gaijin card maybe 4 times. It was just that one time that I didn't have it on my person that I suffered for it.
In the case of being busted, I was presented with a search warrant and the police were as polite as could be. Since I knew they would tear my apartment apart, I presented them with what they were looking for. I was arrested and taken away, but since I had my own private school and they were in plain clothes I was not handcuffed when we left the building as it was their suggestion not to "alarm the neighbors". Also, I guess they believed me as they did not search my home after they confirmed through portable lab analysis that it was indeed an illegal substance.
My wife was also arrested although she was completely innocent. My wife was held for 5 days and I was held for 14. No charges were pressed against my wife, but after 2 weeks I was charged and allowed to post bail.
Throughout the whole process which consisted of much interrogation as to the source and who else was using I signed a confession indicating that the "stuff" was mine. Also, throughout the whole process the police were always kind and respectful, as were the guards in the jail in Yokohama where I was held. Heck, they even let us smoke cigarettes and listen to the ball games at night. However, they were strict and you had better do as you were told and respect them back. I shared in a cell with another prisoner and had absolutely no problems with him or the guards.
We were fed three meals a day, allowed three baths a week., and were allowed to walk around and smoke if we chose to do so for two 15 min beaks per day. The guards even alloed us to smoke in our cells at night if we couldn't sleep. Other than that we were in our cells unless called for interrogation. Up at 7am and lights out at 10pm There was a library with books in Japanese, English, and French and we were allowed to read them in our cells even if we couldn't sleep at night.
No one was beaten or abused and the police kept their word in keeping my name out of the newspaper if I cooperated as I would've lost my school completely if my name was in the papers. They knew that and used it as a "carrot" to get me to be cooperative and honest. I sometimes wonder if I would've been treated as well in the US for such a "serious crime".
After indictment by the prosecutor I was allowed to post bail and was released. I continued with my school after telling them a "lie" that my father had fallen ill and I had to leave in a hurry.
The trial was held about six months later and I was convicted of posession and sentenced to 7 years hard labor, suspended for 3 years.
Since the three judges believed my sincere apology for breaking their law and promising them I would not do it again, I was allowed to stay in country and was not deported. Maybe it was because I had a Japanese wife. I do not know. But I knew of three other single people who were busted (2 people from the UK and one from the US) who were deported and forbidden to return for 10 years. I continued with my school and no one even knew I was busted. The Japanese police did indeed keep their word and I have been back to Japan once or twice a year since I left in 1988 and had no problems entering.
Now, whether abuses by the police occur outside of what I experienced I do not know, but I guess it does here and there as it does in any country, even here in the US. However, in my case, I have nothing but praise for the Japanese police for the way I was treated in both instances. They were polite, firm, and civil and, being in a foreign country, I expected the worse from all the "horror" stories I had heard.
However, I do believe that if one is arrogant and fights the Japanese police, thinking they have 'rights', they will be in for a shock, because in Japan, when one is arrested, you have no rights, and that includes a phone call to relatives to let them know what happened to you! Fight them and be uncooperative and you may just feel their boot.
If you are innocent do not sign any confession as they have to let you go after about 25 odd days without no proof or evidence. One must remember that they are in a foreign country and subject to their laws no matter how arcane they may seem to us in the west. Break the law and you suffer the consequences.
My case may be rare, but I tend to believe it is the norm as I never experienced, or heard from others arrested, any of the abuses mentioned in the OP. However, as I said, it does not mean they don't exist.