Don't show 'em your gaijin card!

[Samurai_Jerk]

[oyajikun]

I once had 3 unmarked police cars and several other police on bikes converge on a parking lot that a friend and I had just pulled into. Apparently, a nearby pawn shop was broken into and we obviously fit the description. Things got even better when they found my camcorder in the car..

After searching the car and our pockets contents, and shying away from my camera, they eventually apologized and departed. It must have been a serious robbery because they never mentioned anything about me pulling into a parking lot piss drunk..

[Charles]

Know your rights and don't be afraid to assert them.

You've got to fight for your right.

[amdg]

Nice that they backed down in the end.

But as Debito admits, the police are actually empowered to demand your ID, and you are required to show it, so long as they first identify themselves:

"The Foreign Registry Law, Section 13, Clause 2. Foreigners, when asked to show their Gaijin Cards by immigration investigation officials (as outlined in separate laws), police, coast guard, or any other national or local public official or group empowered by the Ministry of Justice as part of the execution of their duties, must show."

"The Foreign Registry Law, Section 13, Clause 3. Public officials governed by the previous clause, if asking for the Gaijin Card outside of their workplace, must carry a certificate of their identity and present it if asked."

Sure they may just back down if you don't comply, but I think you'd be on shaky ground if it ever became a judicial issue.

[dimwit]

It's odd, because out here the police (with the exception of the riot squad) are never very aggressive which is good if you are worried about being wrongly accused of a crime, but not so good if you actually need them to help you.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Nice that they backed down in the end.

But as Debito admits, the police are actually empowered to demand your ID, and you are required to show it, so long as they first identify themselves:

"The Foreign Registry Law, Section 13, Clause 2. Foreigners, when asked to show their Gaijin Cards by immigration investigation officials (as outlined in separate laws), police, coast guard, or any other national or local public official or group empowered by the Ministry of Justice as part of the execution of their duties, must show."

"The Foreign Registry Law, Section 13, Clause 3. Public officials governed by the previous clause, if asking for the Gaijin Card outside of their workplace, must carry a certificate of their identity and present it if asked."

Sure they may just back down if you don't comply, but I think you'd be on shaky ground if it every became a judicial issue.

If they said, "show me your card or we're taking you in", then I'd show it. I guess the question is is stopping someone on suspicioun of being a gaijin considered "execution of their duties"?

[Mulboyne]

One of the reasons this episode went off without a hitch is probably that the police actually had something to do and had no time to make your life difficult. If they had stopped you when they were bored, which is not uncommon, things might not have gone so smoothly.