Japan, crimeless?

[SajberJohan]

Uhm, is it just me or does japanese people seem very un-violent? My apprehension is that the crime rate is very low, even in Tokyo. How the hell!?!? :? Maybe it´s the rice that does it... :okashii:

Are there any japanese people out there who can explain to me why there are so few crimes comitted in your country? Other people are also welcome to explain if you feel like you have a good answer ( or just some goofy theory ^^).

///Johan (writing from a crimefilled city)

[PopCulturePooka]

Heres my theory:

You're wrong.

There aren't as many crimes as some cities but like any big city theres still a lot of crime.

[okaeri_man]

yeah "crimeless" is going a bit too far. pick up a japanese newspaper and you'll think it's the worst place in the world! primary school girls stabbing other primary school girls with scissors, students getting decapitated, rape after rape, just about every second article is a crime. then of course there's a lot of corruption involving the yakuza which i've heard about, which just gets overlooked.

but then again there's no news like bad news.

in general it's a safe place - but so are a lot of countries.

[jieshi]

@okaeri man

i agree! i read the newspapers on-line and the funny thing is, its always yr 6 students who are the ones stabbing others. Quite strange if you ask me I think there is a conspiracy! lol

[PaulTB]

Certainly Japan isn't 'crimeless' but don't forget that newspapers don't get paid for producing articles like

"Nothing Much Happened in Shinjuku" or "99.999% of primary school pupils don't kill someone" or even "Man Walks Dog"

You can't get a very good feel for the overall crime rate because newspapers report incidents, not non-incidents.

[SajberJohan]

I talked to a friend that´s been to Japan recently and she said that even though she was walking alone with an expensive camera exposed at night (and this is in Tokyo) she didn´t feel uncomfortable at all and her apprehension also was that there weren´t much crime commited and you could feel safe walking alone at night even in a city such as Tokyo.

Now I´m not saying that Tokyo is crimeless, but compared to cities like New York or Los Angeles it is very safe, heck I wouldn´t dare walk alone with an expensive camera late at night in my own goddamn neighbourhood! :(

[PopCulturePooka]

I talked to a friend that´s been to Japan recently and she said that even though she was walking alone with an expensive camera exposed at night (and this is in Tokyo) she didn´t feel uncomfortable at all and her apprehension also was that there weren´t much crime commited and you could feel safe walking alone at night even in a city such as Tokyo.

Now I´m not saying that Tokyo is crimeless, but compared to cities like New York or Los Angeles it is very safe, heck I wouldn´t dare walk alone with an expensive camera late at night in my own goddamn neighbourhood! :(
Oh trust me, parts of Tokyo I'd feel unsafe. Kabukicho, Roppongi, areas of Shibuya. They can get pretty seedy.

Granted its not AS dangerous as elsewhere in the world, but you still have to be smart.

[jieshi]

I agree with pooka. You always need to keep some sense of security with you.

[Kamisama]

Pooka, are the areas you just spoke of controlled by the yakuza?

[RinniGal]

violence is everywhere there...it's just overshadowed by school girls and AV stars..
I was at a festival and when i passed a group, they were fine. i passed them again and there was a guy on the ground with blood on him.
things happen there like they happen anywhere else.

[SajberJohan]

Maybe he had tripped and fallen on his keys really really bad? :relief:

[den4]

all you need are wacked out cult groups to help raise the crime rate figures.... :(

will they never learn? the cult is evil....

4 arrested for fatally beating woman in religious training ritual

Thursday, October 21, 2004 at 14:42 JST
TOKYO — Police on Thursday arrested four people on suspicion of causing the death of a 36-year-old woman by beating her in so-called religious training of a group linked to the Aum Shinrikyo cult, the police said.

The four include Yuko Kitazawa, 40, leader of the group called Keroyon, and Masataka Fujibayashi, 35, a former Aum member. They allegedly inflicted fatal injuries on the woman by beating her with a bamboo sword Sept 10 at an apartment in Tokyo's Nakano Ward, according to the police. (Kyodo News)

[SajberJohan]

I thought the Aum group didn´t exist anymore ( if it´s the same Aum group that did the gas thingy at the trains)

[Elizabeth]

yeah "crimeless" is going a bit too far. pick up a japanese newspaper and you'll think it's the worst place in the world! primary school girls stabbing other primary school girls with scissors, students getting decapitated, rape after rape, just about every second article is a crime
Rape cases in the paper ? In fact I've rarely seen them. The closest being an occasional "sexual assault" (性的暴行) incident. The majority of reported crimes seem to be domestic or juvenile violence, but then again I mainly read national papers like Asahi or Mainichi and don't necessarily seek out the most salacious sections. :-)

[den4]

splinter groups always exist for cults....
the official name is now Aleph, but many still appear to support the former guru of the grotesque....

[jieshi]

Did you know that it is rumoured the director of neon genesis evangelion is/was part of the aum cult?

[PopCulturePooka]

Did you know that it is rumoured the director of neon genesis evangelion is/was part of the aum cult?
So was the maker of Final Fantasy apparantly.

But I've also heard that rumour started from fundy christians so...

[serewen]

Thier education system I assum

[SajberJohan]

So in school they learn "crime is bad, don´t commit crime!" and that just keeps them from doing it? :? And what about violence in school, is it common with fights :box: and bullying teachers :evil: and such, or is that just a screwed up view I´ve gotten from reading too much manga? :p

[PopCulturePooka]

So in school they learn "crime is bad, don´t commit crime!" and that just keeps them from doing it? :? And what about violence in school, is it common with fights :box: and bullying teachers :evil: and such, or is that just a screwed up view I´ve gotten from reading too much manga? :p
Word in your ear mate:

Manga is NOT the way to learn about Japan.

EVER

[Apollo]

There is another thread in this forum which touches upon the subject, also crime and the role of the yakuza:Thread on crime in Japan (http://www.jref.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11563&highlight=crime+japan)

[RinniGal]

Word in your ear mate:

Manga is NOT the way to learn about Japan.

EVER

hahaha...manga is like gaijin bible..lol
i think that there isnt much in the papers about sexual assault because:
a. it happens so much
b. the girls end up getting paid for it

[den4]

manga is like any other medium...it can be educational as well as brain damaging... :D

I wonder what the Aleph group is up to these days....

then there was that crazy cult group that mummified their members after they died, and still claimed they were living, and refusing to allow the victim to eat....

then there was the one nicknamed the White Brigade, because they clothed themselves with White, covered everything in white, claimed that a seal (Tama-chan) was their savior to fight against the asteroid that was going to destroy the earth....and their leader, this scary looking woman, was on death's door, dying, yet miraculously always managing to postpone her own death for the next forecasting of doom....with her accuracy at future forecasting, even the local weathermen or women have a better ratio at hitting their forecasting target :D

people are weird....

[SajberJohan]

...people are weird....

...and japanese people are REALLY weird :blush:

[december]

Japan? Crimeless? Far from it, my dear. The crime rate isn't as high as compared to the US, true enough. But it still happens. And also, the juvenile crimes have went up in Japan - in fact, in went up so much that Japan was force to lower the age of when a child can be tried as an adult from 16 to 14. And sexual assualt does happen, quite often. In fact, in Japan, there are signs up to warn women to beware of chikan - men who get off on touching women during the times when the train are crowded. And some celebrity (he wasn't all that popular anymore) was also arrested about a month or two ago, for sexually molesting a high school girl. So nope, Japan is not crimeless.

[SajberJohan]

Well the topic wasn´t meant to be taken literally, ofcourse I understand that there is crime in Japan too, but from what I´ve learned reading posts (and even a book) compared to most westerncountries the overall crimerates aren´t very high in Japan.

[Exidez]

when i first came to japan i thought the same...
but now that i have lived in japan for a while and got to know the town and people, you start to think very very differently.
i have met the local gangs in my town.. i didnt know they were part of a gang at first. I didnt find out the next day when people told me that you shouldnt hang around with that guy.
I didnt find him that bad of a guy but if people say he is, i have not choice but to believe them.

i have also met gang members girlfiends.. as soon as i found out that there bf was a gang memeber i had to stop all contact..

i have seen what happens. But because i am a foreigner things are a bit less strict if you know what i mean. Japanese dont treat you like other japanese. They have a soft spot i supose. If thats what you call it.

From the surface things look ok. But ones you get deeper understadning of things you see things differently...
its hard to explain to those that dont know..

i wonder if anyone actually understands me

[den4]

Exidez, take comfort in the fact that you now know too much about Japan, so you've become like them...now nobody will understand you back home :D
what you say makes perfect sense in Japan....too bad it'll get rost in tlansration to anybody that is not on the same level as you :D

life is grand....people are still weird...though.....
and I still know nothing, so don't ask me anything :D

[Exidez]

what you say makes perfect sense in Japan....too bad it'll get rost in tlansration to anybody that is not on the same level as you :D

i have noticed this recently...
no1 seamd to understand me anymore, lol :D

[den4]

I've given up on people understanding each other....it's over rated....

[SajberJohan]

[...]I didnt find him that bad of a guy but if people say he is, i have not choice but to believe them.[..]i wonder if anyone actually understands me

I understand what you mean but you should get your own opinion of the guy no matter what other people say, that´s like not seeing a movie just because all your friends say its bad but when you see it maybe you´ll think it´s good, if you understand me ;)