Legal Advice: Please Help!

[GuyJean]

I've just received this email from my cousin in the States:

"I wanted to ask your guidance in something that has happened
to a colleague of mine. She has a son who was the recent victim of a brutal attack while in Japan. He is there teaching English and has only been on the Island for two or three months. Apparently the attackers burned part of his body and left him for dead. He is in hospital in dokkio?, and he has no legal council. The police have been trying to get him to settle the matter out of court. Do you have any suggestions on whom to contact for assistance?"

Does anyone know a bilingual lawyer that wouldn't mind challenging the system?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Sound like he's now one of us... A F*cked Gaijin.

Contact me personally if need be: freedom@tokyodv.com

Thanks,

GJ

[GuyJean]

Here's more info:

"I think the Hospital is Dokkyo?

He and a fellow teacher from Canada were crossing a street when the car pulled up and started honking. They waived the car on and when they did three individuals jumped out and attacked the Canadian?

Reed,the son, ran to get help and when he found none, came back to the scene. His friend was gone but the assailants were still there. They attacked Reed at that point and continued to beat him until he was semi-conscious.

Apparently, the assailants were from a Japenese gang. The police found two of them, but the police are trying to get Reed to settle out of court. The hospital will not release him and they are not allowing any visitors.

He has second degree burns on his legs and back and is recovering slowly. The incident happened over memorial day weekend, which was the 27th of May."

Any help would be gracious..

GJ

[kamome]

Sounds like a job for....Super Steve Bildermann. I think he would be the most knowledgeable F*ed Gaijin on this site when it comes to legal crises in Japan.

[Steve Bildermann]

[GuyJean]

Kamo, Ultra, Steve,

You, my fellow f*ckees, are my heros! (and I know you've heard this before, Steve

Your advice REALLY helps!... I'll keep you posted on the progress. I've also recommended my cousin join the ranks of a F*cked Gaijin, so he can ask questions directly. Here is another email from him:

"We have called the embassy and they are aware of the situation. Here is the infromation on the hospital and his name;

Reed Christy
c/o Dokkyo Hospital
Tochigi-ken
Mibu Machi
Kita Kobayashi 880"

Thanks again... I'll be back.

GJ

[cstaylor]

He can get good free legal aid if he qualifies and if the police have caught these assholes he can sue for BIG BUCKS *if* he does it right.

Get the Japanese court to hang them instead... bastards. I always thought there should be a mushroom effect, where everyone (including parents and children) directly related to the accused gets the noose so there's no lingering genetic damage to society. Maybe that's a bit much...

[cstaylor]

Reed Christy
c/o Dokkyo Hospital
Tochigi-ken
Mibu Machi
Kita Kobayashi 880"

Man, that's hicksville. No wonder the police are trying to get him to settle... it's probably their kids who committed the crime (violence begets violence).

Good luck to him... hope he recovers fully from his wounds. What happened to his friend?

[Steve Bildermann]

[GuyJean]

Man, I love you F*ckers!.. (In a non-homo way.. Not that there's anything wrong with that)

I'll lead my cousin to this thread.. It's VITAL info for him..

I'll keep you posted on the situation.. I'll also find out what happened to this guy's friend.

GJ

[GuyJean]

Just got this email:

"Reed is recovering well and plans to pursue a lawsuit against the
assailants. He has received a translator and legal assistance. It appears
that this was a pure hate crime."

Sounds like the 'system' will work for him.. Thanks to everyone for your help. I'll try to keep you updated on how things proceed.

This has inspired me to consider a documentary on xenophobia, or racism in Japan.. It seems to be very prevalent. And probably will only get worse as the economy sputters, and they increasingly 'import' workers to support the old.

What do you guys think of Ishihara? I originally liked him, because I thought he was what Japan needed; a strong leader. But he's said some idiotic things.. He's a little like a right-wing Makiko Tanaka; I think his mouth will destroy him.

GJ

[cstaylor]

This has inspired me to consider a documentary on xenophobia, or racism in Japan.. It seems to be very prevalent. And probably will only get worse as the economy sputters, and they increasingly 'import' workers to support the old.

Well, you can probably take it back to Ieyasu Tokugawa and his ejection of foreigners from Japan. Not sure if that's the first example of State-supported xenophobia, but it's a good one.

As for hate crimes... well, I don't think the Japanese have cornered the market on that one. What I really find amusing (or frustrating, depending on how serious the situation) is when people find pride in things they have no control over. In the case of the Japanese, it's pride in being Japanese (yeah, like anyone has a choice on the circumstances of their birth), pride in the old history of Japan (history for all generations is a story, wonderfully told and illustrated, but still just a story with roughly zero relevance to the present moment), and pride in their monoculture (not sure why that's a good thing, but hey, I'm not Japanese).

There are hate crimes everywhere... especially in Hicksville Tochigi (or that cesspool called Saitama).

Good luck with your documentary. Make sure you start the questioning with something innocent, like: "What do you think about the situation of African-Americans in the United States?"... then lead them to replacing the words "African-American" with "Korean" and "United States" with "Japan" and get their reaction.

[cstaylor]

[quote="GuyJean"]What do you guys think of Ishihara? I originally liked him, because I thought he was what Japan needed]He's a politician. He's found a niche with the right in Japan, and he's capitalizing on it. He's already setting up his son to continue the dynasty...

I guess I'm more cynical then you are... I'm of the opinion that most of these politicians are actors, raking in the cash (your cash if you're paying Japanese taxes) while spouting off useless phrases to win support from the particular groups they attract.

Now, if we're talking politicians, doesn't Hashimoto look like some 70's mafia guy? What's up with the hair from 20 years ago?

[kamome]

the BIG problem is most japanese think its a wonderful society, japanese are kind and shy. they are not prepared or interested to look at negatives.

Yeah, I'll never forget the time I brought up the unspoken truth to a Japanese teacher-friend about the Yakuza running the construction industry. He was so pissed that I believed it and categorically denied that there were ties between the yakuza and construction. Am I completely naive, or doesn't everybody know about the mob connection to the kensetsu industry?

[cstaylor]

Well, one way to defuse that "categorical denial" is to point out that the American construction industry has historically been tied to unions and the mob, so it's not that different than Japan.

The big problem is that national tax funds were funding these worthless construction projects.

[cstaylor]

Great... more trolls.

[GuyJean]

Your cousin got what he deserved. I hope he dies.

Don't worry. We all get what we deserve. Even you.

GJ

[Kyoto Gaijin]

Your cousin got what he deserved. I hope he dies.

Don't worry. We all get what we deserve. Even you.

GJ

so what eventually happened in this case?

The only similar case I've heard of is a famous yakuza shooting incident in Kyoto where some drunk american guys flipped off a white mercedes because it had honked them for blocking the road, I think they may have even slammed the hood with their hands.

A yakuza got out of the car calmly and shot one of them dead on the spot.

This might be an urban legend, but most people I've asked say they remember that something along those lines definitely happened.

[GomiGirl]

I missed this thread all together when it was first posted - I must have been away..

Is there an update? It seems like a really horrible situation for your cousin, and I hope that he really does _get_ what he deserves - justice... either that or a boat-load of cash - better yet - both!!

I guess living in Tokyo, everybody is so used to foreigners here that people don't seem to bat an eyelid like they do in the country.. I haven't really experienced xenophobia as such - encountered alot of ignorance but Japan doesn't hold exclusive rights on that. I was refused an apartment once but compared to the discrimination/hate crimes against people of asian decent that occur where I went to school, it is very mild IMHO.

But a hate crime in the countryside? Were they the equivalent of in-bred Red Necks in souped up cars cruising for trouble?

[GuyJean]

Is there an update?

Actually, he isn't my cousin. He's my cousin's co-worker's son..

Last I heard, the guy in the hospital contacted a bilingual lawyer to help him out, and was recovering nicely. His mother, my cousin's co-worker, was on her way from the States to help out. They had also notified the US Embassy of the situation.

I directed my cousin to this thread since everyone came up with such great ideas for helping out. He said the forum was.. 'interesting'. But that's the last I heard from him. He's been rather nomadic recently.

There's just too much hatred in the world. I HATE that!!

GJ

[GomiGirl]

There's just too much hatred in the world. I HATE that!!

Agreed!!