Why you don't want to get in trouble in Japan, or even wrongly accused

[PopCulturePooka]

Just read this site
http://www.phaseloop.com/foreignpris...son-japan.html

Jeez...
I never EVER want to be wrongly accused of a crime in Japan. People like Chris Snell, Nick Baker and Govinda Prasad Mainali have had their lives destroyed by crimes they didn't commit and an unfair and some would say insane criminal justice system more obssessed with keeping vote pleasing statistics then finding the truth.

Makes me sick and scared.

[Ewok85]

I know without reading that you don't want to go astray in Japan, its doesnt have all the nice coushy legal niceities you see on american cop shows.

I dont think its as bad as some places like Singapore where drug smuggling = death. Another reason I dont do crap like that.

And after reading...
Its sad that these people are locked up and it is frightening. Just remember if you travel overseas or anywhere where checks are mandatory pack your own bags, dont let ANYONE, not your friends, not your mother, ANYONE touch the bags or pack them, something they may do thats they they think is in good faith and harmless (pack some painkillers etc) can have serious repercussions. If you are given 'gifts' open them and check the contents, once again, it may be harmless but you NEED to know what you are carrying. You should know where your bag is at at all times and when it isnt insist that they place security tags over the zips and padlock them shut. Dont leave your bags, dont use them in a way that makes them easy to penetrate (ie. open). As you can see the consequences can be horrible.

God im paranoid.

[King of Tokyo]

*Shudders* Lucky I'm not into drugs.. Now all I gotta do is watch my luggage like a hawk..

[Post 200, I'm now a green belt.. even though I prefer being a Samurai.. Heh. ]

[dadako]

TBH I was offered to go and smoke a bit of weed with some musicians when I was living in Tokyo, thankfully A: I haven't enjoyed smoking since I was about 18 & B: I've heard horror stories a plenty about people being locked up for 5 years just for looking at ganja.

The police in Japan can hold you for 60 days for no reason at all. Now that's reason enough not to get into trouble... I'd certainly say that I've never had any contact with the cops there, but they seemed to turn a blind eye to most things anyway (like when I watched the chinpira storm a koban to rescue thier friend and beat up the coppers inside, or the time when I watched a yakuza punch the sh*t out of a taxi driver right outside a koban! They just stood and watched then got back ot thier ocha and hentai mags...)

[Mike Cash]

Originally Posted by dadako

The police in Japan can hold you for 60 days for no reason at all.

Please don't spread inaccurate information.

Initial police hold = 48 hours
Extension = 24 hours
Initial prosecutor hold = 10 days
Extension = 10 days

Do the math, and you will find that it equals 23 days, not 60. By the end of this time, either the prosecutor must file criminal charges or you must be released.

[PopCulturePooka]

23 days is still a hell of a long time, especially if youre innocent.

[Mike Cash]

Originally Posted by FirstHousePooka

23 days is still a hell of a long time, especially if youre innocent.

I couldn't agree more. Especially when you have no legal right to have an attorney present, nor even to consult with one until criminal charges are filed.

One of the favorite devices the Japanese police like to use is the 再逮捕 (saitaiho) or "re-arrest". Listen for it in news stories.

An essential element of the re-arrest device is the routine denial of pre-trial bail. Without it, it would have little chance of success. Here's what it is:

A person is arrested on suspicion of some (relatively) large crime, but the police haven't been able to put together sufficient evidence, so during interrogation they work the traditional good cop / bad cop routine on the suspect during interrogations sessions that can run damned near round-the-clock, with sleep and food deprivation being favored additional tools. In many crimes in Japan, the police can not actually arrest a person unless the person is caught in the act or makes a confession. Often, the person in the jail is technicallynot under arrest, but is there under circumstances known as 任意同行 (nin'i doukou) (voluntarily going along to the police station). The police are under strong time pressure here to do something, anything, to get an arrest on some charge, any charge at all.

But....they....need....a....confession.

So they have a guy hauled in for burglary, for example, and the guy just is not going to cooperate with the investigation (whether because he's guilty and doesn't want to go to jail, or because he actually didn't do it and couldn't tell them what they're looking for anyway)......

Made up example follows:

"It must have been you. A neighbor saw you moving toward that house."
"Yeah, I was there. But I didn't break in."
"What were you doing then?"
"I just stepped over there to take a leak."
"So you were just taking a piss?"
"Yes"
"Gotcha! You're under arrest."

Remember, we're dealing with that 23 day limit here, and an effort to circumvent it. By making an arrest on the lesser charge (yes, it's against the law to do that), they have something they can immediately run up the system and get charges filed on. The 23 day clock is no longer ticking. It's dead. The prosecutor files charges and requests that pre-trial bail not be granted. The only way a prosecutor will ever agree to not block bail is if he has a confession (to the greater crime, not the lesser) in hand before he goes to court. Otherwise, if you plan to fight it, you can damned well sit there and rot until the trial starts....which may be weeks or months away. Japan has no concept of "speedy trial".

What's the benefit of doing this? Well, now the police/prosecutors have all the time in the world to either break a recalcitrant suspect who is in fact guilty, or to twist and turn things (or manufacture evidence, including falsified confessions from the suspect) from both types of suspect, the actually guilty and the actually innocent. The interrogations continue right on through until trial time, and the 23 day limit no longer has a blessed thing to do with it.

[jieshi]

ouch. I already heard about the japanese prison system. I just dont want to get in trouble with them at all seriously sometimes zero tolerance is taken to far. But I guess thats why Japan is such a safe country

[Mike Cash]

Originally Posted by jieshi

sometimes zero tolerance is taken too far.

Hence the term "zero" tolerance.

[Maciamo]

Mikecash, do you know if one can prosecute the police for arresting someone (eg. for 23 days) without evidence and giving them a harsh treatment, once it has been proved that the person was innocent ? Is there any compensation for people arrested by mistake (it seems pretty common in Japan) and who end up losing their job, etc. because they couldn't even contact their employer, family or lawyer ?

If there is nothing that can be done against the police/authorities, then Japan is about as bad as China for absolutism and human rights abuses.

[JDubG]

That is really sad... I signed the petition for Nick Baker. Thanks for the post though! I will be checking my stuff frequently when I travel...

[Mike Cash]

Originally Posted by Maciamo

Mikecash, do you know if one can prosecute the police for arresting someone (eg. for 23 days) without evidence and giving them a harsh treatment, once it has been proved that the person was innocent ? Is there any compensation for people arrested by mistake (it seems pretty common in Japan) and who end up losing their job, etc. because they couldn't even contact their employer, family or lawyer ?

If there is nothing that can be done against the police/authorities, then Japan is about as bad as China for absolutism and human rights abuses.

I have no idea if one can file a civil suit based on this or not. I suppose it could be tried. I really have no information on it.

There are groups in Japan which have been working toward changing some of the more egregious stuff, without much luck. Too much power is concentrated in the police structure. One of the problems of having a National Police Agency.

[Reiku]

...the thing is, I live in California--judicial system or not you don't want to so much as be within eyesite of the police around here.

They're like Shinsengumi without the honor code.

When I was a kid I got into an argument with my babysitter and she called the police and claimed I hit her. I hadn't done anything and there wasn't any evidence but she put me under "citizen's arrest" for assault and I spent over a month in juvinile hall before she admited she was lying and dropped the charges.

(at least the cop's didn't shoot me )

I think if I ever go to Japan I'll use the same tactics for avoiding trouble with the police that I use here:

Step 1: Try to explain that I didn't do anything.

And if that doesn't work:

Step 2: Rely on my martial arts skills and very fast running speed.

[Emoni]

Oh man, um Reiku...

Ok, I'm not even going to say anything on this one :/

Although, I would recomend not going "martial artist" all over those cops then running away. I don't see that working too well as a second back up plan in most countries. It would get you on Cops though for 5 minutes of fame.

[Reiku]

Originally Posted by Emoni

Oh man, um Reiku...

Ok, I'm not even going to say anything on this one :/

Although, I would recomend not going "martial artist" all over those cops then running away. I don't see that working too well as a second back up plan in most countries. It would get you on Cops though for 5 minutes of fame.

Maybe I should have clarified...

...I didn't mean to suggest "going all martial artist" on anyone--but in California dealing with the police often becomes a self-defense situation...

...and if it came down to it--I wouldn't let myself get taken in on charges I knew to be false because I already know what happens in those situations.

If my babysitter hadn't dropped the charges, I'd probably be in jail right now--because once you are in police custody, anything can happen. Even if you are eventually proven innocent--which is by no means likely--all it takes is an inmate starting a fight with you to end up with another charge. It's nearly impossible to avoid violent conflict in those situations--and if you so much as try to defend yourself you'll have an assault charge to deal with.

The bottom line is that once you get taken in, the chances of you ever getting out are remote at best--and even if you do, it's a horrible experience that no one, guilty or not, should ever have to go through...

...and that was just Juvinile Hall--real jail is something much, much, worse.

I should also point out that I'm not just some first year student with a chip on his shoulder: I teach martial arts for a living--nobody lays a hand on me unless I let them. I don't need to hit somebody to perevent myself from being captured, whether by the cops, muggers or anyone else.

[Nakan]

Originally Posted by Maciamo

Mikecash, do you know if one can prosecute the police for arresting someone (eg. for 23 days) without evidence and giving them a harsh treatment, once it has been proved that the person was innocent ? Is there any compensation for people arrested by mistake (it seems pretty common in Japan) and who end up losing their job, etc. because they couldn't even contact their employer, family or lawyer ?

If there is nothing that can be done against the police/authorities, then Japan is about as bad as China for absolutism and human rights abuses.

Of cource, we can prosecute them and get compensation and there exsit laws about it.

http://www.okakogi.go.jp/People/miwa...onOfJapan.html
THE CONSTITUTION OF JAPAN
Article 17.
Every person may sue for redress as provided by law from the State or a public entity, in case he has suffered damage through illegal act of any public official.

国家賠償法
http://law.e-gov.go.jp/cgi-bin/idxse...=1&H_CTG_GUN=1

行政不服審査法
http://law.e-gov.go.jp/cgi-bin/idxse...=1&H_CTG_GUN=1

行政事件訴訟法
http://law.e-gov.go.jp/cgi-bin/idxse...=1&H_CTG_GUN=1

*下の三つは一々訳せないから、日本語わかる人だけ読んでくれればいいや。

[splice]

Hi Reiku... I just had two questions for you, since I'm by nature a curious guy. What are the kanji in your sig supposed to mean? And what martial art do you teach?

That'll be all Thank you.

splice

[Ewok85]

Rofl, assaulting an officer and resisting arrest will make it a while lot better.

[Reiku]

@ Splice: I teach a style called "Butsunami no Dansu" and the kanji in my signature translate as: Passion (as in "strong emotion", not nessescarily romantic), Chaos (literally "primeval chaos" ie: the random stuff the universe was created from), and Destruction.

@ Ewok85: Again, who said anything about assault? You don't have to hit someone to keep them from grabbing you and taking you somewhere against your will--you only need to dodge. As far as "resisting arrest"...

...I live in California--here the only differance between a cop and a gang member is that every cop has a gun.

I'd much rather resist arrest than allow myself to be victimized.

[Mike Cash]

What the heck is "Butsunami no Dansu"? Sounds like it was made up by the same person who threw those three kanji together.

And you don't have to hit someone for it to be assault. You're confusing it with battery.

[kirei_na_me]

Wouldn't resisting arrest cause even more trouble?

[Reiku]

Originally Posted by mikecash

What the heck is "Butsunami no Dansu"? Sounds like it was made up by the same person who threw those three kanji together.

Judging a martial art by it's name only shows your own arrogance.

As for the Kanji: As I've said in the other post they are three seperate concepts, not a sentance or phrase. It's a matter of artistry over grammar...

...Besides, attacking a person's signature instead of his point just makes it look like you have nothing to add to the debate.

Originally Posted by mikecash

And you don't have to hit someone for it to be assault. You're confusing it with battery.

Read the post.

Originally Posted by Reiku

Again, who said anything about assault? You don't have to hit someone to keep them from grabbing you and taking you somewhere against your will--you only need to dodge.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Originally Posted by kirei_na_me

Wouldn't resisting arrest cause even more trouble?

Not nessescarily. I make it a point never to do anything that could get me arrested--the only reason a police officer would be trying to arrest me is if they were harrassing me illegally or trying to frame me. In those situations, I'd rather take off than willingly put myself at the mercy of someone I already know to be corrupt.

[splice]

Originally Posted by Reiku

@ Splice: I teach a style called "Butsunami no Dansu" and the kanji in my signature translate as: Passion (as in "strong emotion", not nessescarily romantic), Chaos (literally "primeval chaos" ie: the random stuff the universe was created from), and Destruction.

I've never heard of the style... Translates as something like "Dance of the wave strike"? Strange. Where does it come from? Does it have much of a history? What kind of martial art is it?

Thanks for the answer about the sig. I knew what the kanji were, I was wondering about the meaning.

[Reiku]

Originally Posted by splice

I've never heard of the style... Translates as something like "Dance of the wave strike"? Strange. Where does it come from? Does it have much of a history? What kind of martial art is it?

Thanks for the answer about the sig. I knew what the kanji were, I was wondering about the meaning.

No problem, sorry if I sounded a little pissed off in the last few posts--this thread just reminded me of some rather unpleasant times, so I've been in a bit of a bad mood.

Actually the name is sort of a multilingual pun meaning: "Dance of the Pounding Wave" ("Pounding" as in the english slang term for hitting somone--hence the pun) It developed as a combination of everything I know about martial arts (Jeet Kune Do, in particular), anatomy, and physics...
...yeah, I know: Martial Arts style developed by some gaijin = lame and useless...

...but it really isn't like that.

[splice]

Originally Posted by Reiku

Actually the name is sort of a multilingual pun meaning: "Dance of the Pounding Wave" ("Pounding" as in the english slang term for hitting somone--hence the pun) It developed as a combination of everything I know about martial arts (Jeet Kune Do, in particular), anatomy, and physics...
...yeah, I know: Martial Arts style developed by some gaijin = lame and useless...

...but it really isn't like that.

Well, not always . What martial arts have you practiced and for how long?

I've been in various martial arts myself. Never thought of creating my own style, though.