Richie Bartlett
Free feel-ups from people in uniform…Just one of the many “perks” that comes with living in one of the most foreigner “friendly” countries in the world - Japan!
Legal hurdles are high when it comes to seeking redress
Foreign Tokyo resident “P” writes:
On a recent Sunday at 6:25 p.m. in Roppongi, I was stopped by two police officers for apparently no reason in a clear case of racial discrimination. After showing my ID, the police gave me no explanation relating to any criminal act they suspected me of, and they harassed me.
A police officer is able to ask for a person’s ID, but only if based on a reasonable (gouriteki) judgment of a situation where the policeman sees some strange conduct and some crime is being committed, or else he has enough reason to suspect that a person will commit or has committed a crime, or else it has been acknowledged that a particular person knows a crime will be committed. In these cases a police officer may stop a person for questioning.
Richie Bartlett
Actually, the practice is slightly different… Especially if you are NOT a Japanese National.In short, the police are permitted to:
- stop a person for questioning, and, if they try to escape, to seize them (although the officers are not allowed to restrain or arrest them).
- question them (although they have no obligation to answer these questions).
- request (but not force) them to accompany the officers to a nearby police station or police box for the questioning.
- frisk them with or without consent. (This is not written in the act, but precedents have established this. Basically, the frisking is limited to patting down over their clothing.)
