Pingback by Japan News for February 09, 2007 » Japan Probe

February 9, 2007 @ 1:06 pm

[…] Trans-Pacific radio tackles Health Minister Yanagisawa’s big mouth and the Foreigner Crime File in its latest Seijigiri podcast. [Link] […]

Comment by Gaijin on the Run

February 10, 2007 @ 1:44 am

If you can find some statistics that exclude passport violations, I’d love to hear them.

That’s absolutely ridiculous about the selective discrimination you both received regarding bicycles - do foreigners in Tokyo really have that problem on a regular basis?

That’s right on about the distribution of the Gaijin Hanzai; I didn’t find any copies in Family Marts around Hiroshima or Fukuoka. They were clearly looking to target areas with low foreigner populations, perhaps numb people to the idea that these ideas were established fact.

It’s strange how we as foreigners can suddenly become racially “charged” in a country like Japan. A year ago I couldn’t even imagine having that kind of mindset; in a way, I think it’s very healthy to understand what it’s like, and to take that knowledge back to the US and enlighten others… being the minority.

Comment by DeOrio

February 10, 2007 @ 1:26 pm

I agree, GOTR. I think being on the other end of any kind of discrimination helps people understand why those who receive it in their own countries get so worked up about it. It breeds sympathy, if nothing else. A few years ago, I was stopped by the police in my own neighborhood six times in just under five months - never for any kind of reason - and never received an apology, even of the, “Sorry to bother you,” variety. On the couple of occasions when I asked, as politely as I could, why I was being stopped and having my bag and pockets searched, I was either completely ignored ar got rather rude answers, as though I had been combative.

Now, as a foreigner in a (now) rather homogenous society, I expect to draw some attention. How must, say an African-American man in Charlotte feel? His own hometown, his own country. I have tended to become more and more irritated by Americans who disregard civil rights complaints by saying that people are just complaining or are asking for handouts.

On the other hand, I couldn’t say whether or foreigners in Tokyo have problems such as being stopped or hassled on a regular basis. It seems that most people have at least an experience or two, but I don’t know if that counts as “regular” or not. For me, the longer I live in Tokyo, the rarer those incidents become and I have only really been hassled twice - the most frustrating being the bicycle incident in Kichijoji that I talked about on Seijigiri.

I’m also a relatively clean-cut White American, which seems to mean that I am less likely to be hassled than a Black man or a non-Japanese Asian.

You’re out in Hiroshima, right? Other than crackdowns on nightclubs and the hassling of foreign business owners, I haven’t heard much about police tactics there. What’s it like on a day-to-day basis?

I’d be inclined to think it would be similar because the most racist police policies are those coming from the NPA itself; or worse, only because Tokyo is much larger, has a higher general crime rate, and has a somewhat larger foreign population, which could inure the police to knee-jerk xenophobia.

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February 10, 2007 @ 9:10 pm

[…] Gave Trans-Pacific Radio’s Seijigiri podcast a listen on the way to Incheon International Airport this evening. Pretty good stuff, especially if you’re into Japan. Give it a listen. (HT to Japundit) Related Posts (Maybe)Podcast for Korean learners project […]

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February 10, 2007 @ 10:28 pm

[…] Ken and Garrett from TransPacific Radio have released their new Seijigiri Podcast this week. It’s fantastic as always and highly worth the time to check it out. […]

Comment by Alex Pappas

February 11, 2007 @ 12:37 am

I must say, this is a fantastic seijigiri. I was especially impressed with Garrett’s Bike story. I’ve never had that problem but I have felt that quite often Japanese people just use the tool of ‘mild neglect’. When I’m in a store for instance, they just stare and when I buy something they don’t say anything. But the Bike incident G-man faced is ridiculous.

Comment by DeOrio

February 11, 2007 @ 3:53 am

Thanks, Alex. I thought so, too. Actually, at the time, I wasn’t even that angry. I had heard a few stories of such occurrences - and worse - so I thought, “Well, it was going to happen sometime or other.” The things that baffled me then, and still do to this day, were why I would go to them if I had stolen a bike and why they would ask so many detailed questions, but not call the bike shop owner. They were definitely cherry picking the details for things that cast me in a bad light, but it didn’t piss me off until I wound up on an unnecessarily long ride home afterwards because they gave me entirely wrong directions.

I didn’t mention that in the podcast. After they let me go, I asked which way Ome-kaido was and they pointed me 180 degrees in the wrong direction. As I was not very familiar with the area, it took me at least half an hour to figure out I was going the wrong way.

Oh, and I never did get my tire pumped up.

When I figured out I was going the wrong way, I stopped at an Eneos station - the guy and girl working there were pretty nice - and got my tire pumped up and took a look at a map.

I guess I was in a visibly bad mood because the girl asked me if I was OK. I just told her the police had sent me in the wrong direction.

On one hand, much worse things have happened to people for equally arbitrary reasons. On the other, it’s ridiculous that such things should happen at all in a modern, law-based society.

On a completely unrelated note, I’m going to start swearing more. This edition of Seijigiri has gotten attention rather quickly.

Comment by Alex Pappas

February 11, 2007 @ 10:44 am

Ha ha ha .. I fully support the use of extra colorful language should it increase our ratings! Damn it! Count me in ! ha ha

Comment by Ken Y-N

February 11, 2007 @ 12:48 pm

Related, perhaps, to your comments on how much Diet members make, I just saw today on Akko ni Omakase! that Sonomanma Higashi made about 170 TV appearances in his first week as governer of Miyazaki (?) for a total haul of 168 oku en in fees!

Foreigner offences excluding visa violations are easy stats to find, but there is a certain percentage (I don’t know how big or how small) of people who just get kicked out on a visa offense rather than holding a complex case for a “real” crime. For instance, the Chinese student last year who made million selling stuff on MMORPGs got done on visa crimes; anything involving tax dodging, etc, was ignored.

Comment by Ken

February 11, 2007 @ 6:35 pm

On a completely unrelated note, I’m going to start swearing more. This edition of Seijigiri has gotten attention rather quickly.

Maybe it has more to do with drinking more…Unfortunately I was not able to work some cussin’ into my new release. I’ll try to make it up next time by letting out a South Park-esque tirade of f-bombs, should that make the overlords here at TPR happy.

Comment by ken

February 11, 2007 @ 7:15 pm

GOTR & Ken Y-N,

I’m going on memory here, but from what I remember, 13-15% of crimes committed by foreigners fall into the ‘visa violation’ category. So, as a rough estimate, if we take 47,000 crimes committed by foreigners, that would give us something like 6580 of those crimes being visa violations. I’ll see if I can dig up something a bit more concrete…

Comment by DeOrio

February 11, 2007 @ 11:53 pm

Ken Y-N, you bring up a really good point. I don’t know of any specific cases, but I’m sure such things happen as often as not.
What I wonder is what exactly the 47,000 counts. Is it convictions? Accusations? Investigations? Charges? If someone were arrested for, say, assault and theft at the same time, would that be two crimes?
What if someone is charged with a crime, then deported?

As for Higashikokubaru’s TV appearances, all I can think to do is increase my own popularity by saying, “Holy Fucking Cow.” Were I famous, I’d definitely run for office, especially if I had image problems or were losing popularity.
On the other hand, with a near-certainty for convictions, I doubt it’s trials that are a hassle - deportation is probably a way of managing prison population as much as it is avoiding trial.

The other big ting that’s unclear anytime you’re dealing with police statistics anywhere - how much can you trust the police to provide accurate statistics? For example, if a cop actually does pick on someone or if a confession is forced, that’s reported as a crime.

Comment by Alex Pappas

February 12, 2007 @ 1:32 am

Were I famous, I’d definitely run for office, especially if I had image problems or were losing popularity.

Interesting. Oddly enough I would say that helping politicians with bad images is an industry on its own. Especially in a place like Japan, if numbers start going down the first thing Japanese politicians align themselves with others and hire an exploratory committee. In the United States, they fire someone and go after someone else to deflect bad image. Two very different methods and styles. But the American version seems much more effective. When will people like Ishihara learn…

Comment by ken

February 12, 2007 @ 1:56 am

What does Ishihara have to learn? He’s served two terms as governor of Tokyo and is certain to be elected to a third, which even he must know will be his final, given that he’s turning 77 this year. He can pretty much get away with anything at this point.

Comment by DeOrio

February 12, 2007 @ 2:17 am

True. If anything, Ishihara has mastered the art of image control. Pissing guys like us off is probably a great inasmuch as it matters at all.

Part of successful image control is deciding who you need to impress.

Comment by Alex Pappas

February 12, 2007 @ 11:10 am

He can pretty much get away with anything at this point.

That’s true. But for a guy like Ishihara, its not about winning this election. It’s about leaving his mark. He’s much more concerned about the legacy he is leaving behind. And even so, if he keeps up these antics such as the the speech he gave at the chopping of the tree a few months back that gave allergies (I’ll have to find a link) he’ll become less and less popular. That’s what he’s worried about. Winning isn’t enough for Ishihara I think.

Comment by john s

February 12, 2007 @ 12:38 pm

Ishihara’s already left his mark. What’s he going to do now, just pee around more parts of the city? There isn’t even a young generation for him to piss on anymore. He knows his legacy is already sealed, the only thing he can really do is either be remembered as the guy who brought the Olympics back to Tokyo or the guy who started imprisoning teachers over not singing a song.

Comment by Adamu

February 12, 2007 @ 5:15 pm

On foreign criminals: The statistics are available for all who can read Japanese, at least for the first half of 2006 (’s a link to a PDF document). You can look at page 8 to see a nice graph showing that about half of the foreigners charged with “crimes” are illegal aliens who were caught violating immigration laws (if you don’t read Japanese, white is for legal residents, pink is for illegal aliens who were charged with non-visa-related crimes, and green is for illegal aliens charged with visa-related crime). And if you count the violations of immigration laws by people with legal status the ratio becomes even bigger. Visa violations etc should no doubt be taken seriously, but I’d say it’s inappropriate to lump them in with robberies, rapes, and murders. Why does the NPA do this? Pumping up the threat posed by foreigners is probably a good way to justify larger budgets. You would think the NPA would try and take credit for nipping foreign crime in the bud before it could get really bad, but a simple reduction in crime is probably not what they’re after.

I’m guessing the full-year stats will show up some time soon since they have already been released to reporters. And judging by the odd coverage of the numbers (sure, maybe the number of crimes has dropped but look at Shiga Prefecture - their rate of crimes committed by foreigners has jumped 200 percent in 15 years! Or sure crimes are down but the criminals are running away to other countries!) the reporters were more than willing to print what the NPA wanted them to rather than looking through the charts and graphs themselves, all before the public is allowed to see the real numbers.

Comment by Ken Worsley

February 12, 2007 @ 5:28 pm

Adamu, thanks! I’m actually writing the news now…I’m going to have to check that out in a bit, maybe putting some of the graphs into English would be in order if I have time…

What I wonder is what percentage of the foreign crimes involve forgetting the </a> tag?

Comment by Ken Worsley

February 12, 2007 @ 5:31 pm

Adamu, I stuck that tag in, but there was really no point since there was nothing linked to. Looks like something got lost along the way. Could you give us that link again? Thanks…

Comment by Adamu

February 12, 2007 @ 5:55 pm

Link

In case there’s an error here it is again:

http://www.npa.go.jp/sosikihanzai/kokusaisousa/kokusai2/2.pdf

And the parent site:

http://www.npa.go.jp/sosikihanzai/kokusaisousa/kokusai2/contents.htm

Comment by DeOrio

February 13, 2007 @ 12:51 am

Thanks, Adamu.

I absolutely agree that visa violations should not be lumped in with crimes that would be crimes regardless of nationality. I also agree that the NPA is trying to puff up its budget. This was the thinking behind the ridiculous DNA-testing plan that they pushed even after a few prominent scientists said what should have been obvious: there was no way it could work.

(They wanted to test DNA from every crime scene to see if the criminal was Japanese or not on the idea that Japanese people have different DNA from others. This is true, in a way, in that everyone has different DNA, but, of course, it would only be feasible if they kept a database with every Japanese person’s DNA on it.)

I think budget-puffing may be behind their insistence on assuming unnecessary responsibilities, such as requiring passports checks of all foreigners registering at hotels, instead of just non-resident foreigners, as the relevant law requires.)

Given that they only fail to get a conviction in roughly one out of every thousand arrests in which charges are filed and claim that they use no untoward tactics and treat every detainee humanely and in accordance with the law, there are only two possibilities: either they’re really bad at catching criminals, but really good at getting the right guy, in which case they clearly need a lot more cops on the beat and involved in manhunts; or they’re full of shit and probably should have every budget item subjected to review by an independent auditor with a fine-toothed comb.

Comment by Ken Worsley

February 13, 2007 @ 1:54 am

I don’t even want to get into how ridiculous the idea to DNA test crimes sites was. How could you possibly tell the difference between, say, Japanese and Korean DNA? What would happen if, say, Becky stole some talent from a local shop? Is she a foreigner because of her DNA? Who cares, really, it’s a horseshit idea to begin with…

The NPA “claim[s] that they use no untoward tactics and treat every detainee humanely and in accordance with the law…”

Really? When? Where? I’ve just never seen it actually stated.

Comment by DeOrio

February 13, 2007 @ 1:16 pm

Well, there was last week’s Economist, in the article about the conviction rate and the movie I Just Didn’t Do It, in which the reporter said an NPA official dismissed allegations of torture and lengthy detention. When stories about the Bar Association wanting taped interrogations are run, the NPA routinely says it’s unnecessary because they always act in accordance with the law.

If I come across a denial in print, I’ll link to it.

Comment by Turner

February 15, 2007 @ 12:05 am

Deorio,

Sorry it took me a while to answer - I was visiting Sapporo. As of yet, I can honesty say I haven’t any seriously negative experiences being a foreigner in Japan.

Hiroshima has had a recent crackdown in its nightlife; clubs with a high foreigner turnout were specifically targeted with the pretense of enforcing a long-forgotten dancing permit law.

I haven’t had any run-ins with the police in my travels, or even on a day-to-day basis in Hiroshima. Maybe if that time comes I’ll have something to share. Public perception varies here.

Comment by Alex

February 16, 2007 @ 12:07 am

http://www.sso-chemnitz.de/images/japan_2003/galerie/031027_AlienRegistration_ss-x.jpg
The above link is about as bad I’ve experienced it in Japan. Not terrible but not totally comfortable either.

Alien? What do I look like a creature from outer-space? Wait, don’t answer that…

Comment by Turner

February 17, 2007 @ 2:22 am

Actually, that’s very PC. Alien is a recognized term describing someone from another country.

Comment by ken

February 17, 2007 @ 2:30 am

Turner, you’re right about it being a recognized term, but do you think ‘alien’ is really PC? Or do you think the comment is PC and I’m misreading your comment…or am I too tired?

I think it would be really PC if the airport sign said, “Non-citizen residents,” but really, “Re-entry permit holders”…

Oops, I just realized Alex’s sign is from a Ward Office, not the airport. I don’t find ‘alien’ offensive at all, but it does have that double meaning of ’someone from another planet,’ which, let’s face it, does seem to describe some native Japanese as well as us foreigners.

Comment by DeOrio

February 17, 2007 @ 11:23 am

Well an alien would be an alien, right? A Martian would have to register as an alien unless he was really furry and cute, in which case, he’d be granted citizenship as soon as he appeared on TV 50 times - just like Tama-chan.

Comment by Dave M G

March 9, 2007 @ 9:21 pm

Just recently listened to Seijigiri # 17.

I wanted to comment on the somewhat conspiratorial theory that Family Mart or their distributors deliberately put the Gaijin Hanzai Ura Fairu book in more rural outlets.

First, I live in Shibuya, and it was available for sale here. I was one of the foreigners who snapped up a copy for my own amusement.

But more importantly, where I live, two out of the three closest convenience stores are staffed by Chinese (or at least of Chinese descent). One of those is a Family Mart, and what do you suppose they did with the magazine when they held it in their hands as they were about to stock it on the shelves?

Basically, I don’t think there was any deliberate attempt to keep it away from the central parts of Tokyo where the foreigners are. I think the foreigners may well have done a fine job on their own of keeping it out.

Just an idea.

Dave M G

Comment by Ken Worsley

March 9, 2007 @ 10:02 pm

Hey Dave, thanks for you comment and the listen. I don’t think anyone meant to imply a conspiracy, just how it could have been marketed. We both had trouble finding the magazine in central Tokyo - myself in the Shibuya area and Garrett near Shinjuku and Nakano.

That you saw/were able to purchase it is important though. I hope you kept the receipt.

I suppose two people could sit around debating what Family Mart’s distribution strategy is forever, but truth is neither of us knows and we were just taking guesses. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if they didn’t have one.