The curious tale of the incarceration of a 74 year old tourist

[Mulboyne]

I didn't raise this before because I was hoping the issue would be cleared up by now...

However, for those who don't know, Debito included this post a few days ago which printed an email from someone called Brian Hedge. In short, he tells of a 74-year old US tourist who went to a koban in Shinjuku to ask for directions, was promptly arrested for carrying an illegal knife and held for 9 days. Shortly afterwards, the Japan Times also printed Hedge's claim. A number of commenters, both on Debito's site and over on Japan Probe, have questioned whether the story is true. Debito claims, a little ingenuously, that he has only published the email to start a discussion and hasn't passed judgement on its veracity. He has suggested he'll take it down if there is no further substantiation.

Personally, I'd like this story to be true since I think it could be a catalyst for a review of the how policing of foreigners is often at odds with programmes like Yokoso. However, I think I'm on the side of the disbelievers right now because the aspects which make it a dream scenario are also those which make it unlikely. Age still counts for a lot in Japan so the police would think twice about being heavy-handed with a 74 year old foreigner. Of course, I don't know what ethnic background this tourist has and that might make a difference. Hedge's account has too much detail in some areas and not enough in others to be completely plausible. He has either got details confused or the story is a fabrication.

It says something about the current plight of the Japan Times that the paper printed the account without apparently looking for any verification. Does the Japan Times have no longer have any decent contacts with local police and embassies? It does begin to make you wonder whether there are any media organizations or networks for foreigners left in Japan which are able to follow up stories like this.

[BO-SENSEI]

From Hedge's account

Now I feel compelled to shine a light on the fact that Japan is a horrible place to visit and extremely unsafe if you are not Japanese. It's astounding that a tourist in Japan has more to fear from the Japanese government or national police force than the citizenry.

It is 2009, not 1809! It's about time the Japanese government and people treated foreigners like human beings not unlike themselves — with respect and humility.

Wow, tell us how you really feel.
Just in case this story might be true, I think it is reasonable for people who visit a foreign country to learn of the rules and regulations before traveling there in order to make sure something like this doesn't happen. Like a Japanese man who doesn't know public urination is illegal in Hawaii.

[Taro Toporific]

http://blooddx66.multiply.com/reviews/item/1
According to the law one may not be in possession of cutlery with a blade in excess of 6cm [color="Gray"][2.36 inches][/color] in length unless they have legitimate reason..

Upon reading this I started to wonder....
Yep, the standard Swiss Army Knife is 6.8cm (2.7in) and I'm a criminal daily.



Open Length: 6.1in (15.5cm)
Closed Length: 3.6in (9.1cm)
Blade Length: 2.7in (6.8cm)
Blade Alloy: Stainless Steel
Recommended Use: Travel, hiking, camping, multi-use...

[Mulboyne]

On blogs like Japan Probe some commenters are keen to give reasons why the incident couldn't possible have happened. I agree that the story sounds unlikely but I don't think it is impossible. It's clear that Brian Hedge is an unreliable witness because he says he is passing along details second-hand but I don't think we can say with any certainty that he is lying.

Hedge has indicated on Debito's site that a journalist from the Japan Times is following up the story. I would have thought that, as he is a regular contributor to the paper, Debito might easily be able to verify this statement but perhaps that's not how things work at the JT. He has also indicated that the US Embassy was involved so you would imagine that, if this does prove to be a genuine incident, we'll be hearing about it through some route or another.

[American Oyaji]

I hope we can hear the whole story if it's true.

[Coligny]

Upon reading this I started to wonder....
Yep, the standard Swiss Army Knife is 6.8cm (2.7in) and I'm a criminal daily.



Open Length: 6.1in (15.5cm)
Closed Length: 3.6in (9.1cm)
Blade Length: 2.7in (6.8cm)
Blade Alloy: Stainless Steel
Recommended Use: Travel, hiking, camping, multi-use...

Have the same (the ghey IMac style tranparent plastic body) , but measuring the cutting part of the blade give me a 5.9cm...

Since I never use the knife I put electric tape on it for now. But maybe grinding it down would be a better Idea. Need to re-chrome after. Somebody know a chrome plating shop in Aichi ?

[Mulboyne]

[Taro Toporific]

New update from Brian Hedge and angry response from Debito:

It sounds like both the Japan Times ("Japan jails are friendly and comfortable") and now Debito are closing off further information/confirmation of the story. Kind of sad but the 74-year-old man in question was not trying to pursue the injustice, only Brian.

[Mulboyne]

It sounds like both the Japan Times ("Japan jails are friendly and comfortable") and now Debito are closing off further information/confirmation of the story. Kind of sad but the 74-year-old man in question was not trying to pursue the injustice, only Brian.

Here's hoping there is a Japan Times article in the pipeline. It's looking more as if Brian may have misrepresented the whole affair in which case the JT is somewhat obligated to set the record straight since they gave Brian column space to put forward his original account.

[Mulboyne]

[Mock Cockpit]

It seems this is more a case of police just being "respect my authority" cunts than pure racism. A Japanese friend of mine was held in the cells for 2 weeks for "tattooing a minor" before being released without charge. It's fucking ridiculous.

[pheyton]

This story stinks. Why would they ask a 74 year old man if he had a knife? WTF is that about? And ya, it's beyond fucked the way he was treated, every step of the way.

As for Debito, he sure stooped pretty low by chastising the writer and finishing off with profanity. Pretty lame and unprofessional to go as far as he did. I can say you're a short dicked, halfwit all I want because I don't have a serious website dedicated to bettering Gaijin and Japanese relations. But I think Debito should issue a retraction for coming unglued especially after post 99. Oh, and #99 is not mine or anyone I know, I think....

[Samurai_Jerk]

How exacly does this law work anyway? If I pick up a new kitchen knife set at my local Donki and carry it home, am I technically in violation of the law while in transit? I guess we were all violating the law when I was on JET and we (teachers and students) used knives to cut up the veggies at the camp ground BBQ pits on our annual Nikko Ensoku.

I if I ever go apeshit and split some heads with baseball bats in the streets of Chuo-ku, they'll probably require a batting license or someshit if you want to play baseball. Fucking retarded.

[Doctor Stop]

Why do you ask? This is Japan™.

[Coligny]

[quote="Doctor Stop"]Why do you ask? This is Japan™]

Yup... and call me a pussy but I grinded the blade of my swiss army knife to 3cm with flat dull tip now.

Never used the knife part anyway...

[Ketou]

Yup... and call me a pussy but I grinded the blade of my swiss army knife to 3cm with flat dull tip now.

Never used the knife part anyway...

pussy

[Kuang_Grade]

I'm really surprised the guy answered this question truthfully. This is like if a cop asks if you have any drugs on you...saying yes is something that isn't going to result anything remotely positive regardless if that is a true answer or not. Now if you know they have you cold, that's one thing, but just some cop asks this out of the blue, no way you answer like that with anything but a no.

[Coligny]

pussy

meeoooowwwwww...

[Cyka UchuuJin]

This story stinks. Why would they ask a 74 year old man if he had a knife? WTF is that about? And ya, it's beyond fucked the way he was treated, every step of the way.

as doctor stop said...this is japan.

there isn't a rhyme or reason to what police, immigration, anyone in any position of even the smallest amount of power do.

the story is definitely disturbing. and yet another blow to the yokoso campaign. i hope some of the western press picks up this story.

[Takechanpoo]

One otaku looking Japanese(not foreign) guy was arrested due to the same reason just after Akihabara indiscriminate attack. The point is that suspicious looking dudes are arrested due to even minor offence, regardless of whether Japanese or gaijin. Of course this is also one of influences of fake terror campaigne spread by damn America.

[BO-SENSEI]

I'm really surprised the guy answered this question truthfully. This is like if a cop asks if you have any drugs on you...saying yes is something that isn't going to result anything remotely positive regardless if that is a true answer or not. Now if you know they have you cold, that's one thing, but just some cop asks this out of the blue, no way you answer like that with anything but a no.

You say "no" if you were asked about drugs because you know there are illegal, this guy had no idea that carrying a pocket knife was illegal.

[Ketou]

meeoooowwwwww...

I thought a swiss army was within limits...

[Amanojakuu]

Answering the purchasing blades from a homestore and taking them home/taking knives to a BBQ case would seem to be the most pertinent question to understanding this 'law' more.

I know in the UK (at least in the past) you could take some pretty vicious weaponary onto the street, as long as it was covered. I know someone into their martial arts who has taken things as big as naginata's to conferences before (on the train), covered.

[Mock Cockpit]

One otaku looking Japanese(not foreign) guy was arrested due to the same reason just after Akihabara indiscriminate attack. The point is that suspicious looking dudes are arrested due to even minor offence, regardless of whether Japanese or gaijin. Of course this is also one of influences of fake terror campaigne spread by damn America.

Good lord, that's the most sensible thing I've ever seen you write here. Monkeys and typewriters indeed.

[Mike Oxlong]

Indeed! Good job, Colignychanpoo!

[Mulboyne]

Whichever way you look at it, the police appear to have been pretty heavy-handed but there are aspects to the story which remain unclear.

Originally, it seemed that the man had gone to a koban for directions. In the Japan Times account, his lawyer says the encounter took place on the street. That begs the question of whether the man initiated contact or whether they had actually approached him first with the intention of questioning him. If the latter, then it wouldn't excuse the way they handled the incident but it would make more sense of what they did.

I'd also like to know whether the father is an Asian-American. Again, it wouldn't excuse the police in the slightest but it might affect who they thought he was and how they decided to treat him. There's that strange account of the police demanding the son speak to his father in Japanese. I'm quite prepared to believe that is simply an example of their bloodymindedness but it may also be because they thought the father could speak some Japanese. We don't know what language he used when asking about Kinokuniya or how they they asked about his knife. It could have been in English or he might have had a few words of Japanese. Perhaps he's Caucasian or African-American but his wife is Japanese and their son a hafu which led the police to conclude, rightly or wrongly, that he could speak Japanese.

Going back to the incident itself, let's say our man did go up to the police first. It's still unclear whether they had a specific reason to ask him about his knife. Was it, for instance, visibly strapped to his belt? If it was some kind of multi-purpose Swiss Army affair, was he using the magnifying glass attachment to look at a map and so had it in plain view? If none of that happened, then, as it stands, it seems our man initiated a conversation with the police who, out of the blue, asked him about a knife which he then confessed to having. I can understand why Kuang Grade thinks he should have seen the way the wind was blowing and denied it but, it's also easy to see why the man had no reason to think he was doing anything wrong.

The hearsay about two other foreigners being detained the same day for the same offence - which we have no way of confirming unless they come forward themselves - raises the possibility that all patrol police were given instructions to ask this question as standard procedure that day. Police like picking up easy targets as we all know from their propensity to question foreigners riding bikes. Takepoo already pointed out that they have been stopping guys on their own in the street to check for knives for some time:



It's an easy way for police to look busy, get some simple collars and rack up some conviction statistics. If you were given instructions to look out for knives, you probably end up doing the same kind of quick and dirty profiling which leads to gaijin on bikes being stopped. It's not out of the question that the police figured out that elderly men sometimes carry a knife around out of longstanding habit. Our 74 year old man may just have been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The lawyer seems to sum it up best when he says that the whole issue ought to have been treated more sensitively and in no way should have led to the man being detained.

[canman]

The only thing I know regarding the Japanese speaking part, is that when my colleagues son was arrested and jailed, when the parents went to visit him they all had to use Japanese, even though my colleague could not speak the language at all. So they were forced to use an interpreter.
As for the Debito thing, I read a lot of the comments and can't believe how quickly he turned on the writer. Also as I was reading the site, I was thinking how miserable his life must be living and working in a country that he has chosen to become a citizen, but seems to either hate it, or is constantly looking for all things evil.

[Mulboyne]

The only thing I know regarding the Japanese speaking part, is that when my colleagues son was arrested and jailed, when the parents went to visit him they all had to use Japanese, even though my colleague could not speak the language at all. So they were forced to use an interpreter.

They are still being unnecessary arseholes but it makes slightly more sense if there was an interpreter present so at least some communication could take place.

EDIT: Actually, it doesn't make as much sense because the JT article says: "...officials at the prosecutor's office asked that the son speak to his father in Japanese because there were no translators available at the time, the son said. The father doesn't speak Japanese."

[Kuang_Grade]

You say "no" if you were asked about drugs because you know there are illegal, this guy had no idea that carrying a pocket knife was illegal.

I know what your saying, but I would view the question as analogous to "do you have any weapons on you", which I would view as totally uncalled for out of the blue and being in a foreign country, I would be cognizant that what I might not be in all the facts of what might be a 'weapon' or not and that while ignorance is not likely to pan out as a good defense, any confirmation is probably not going to end up well either and likely lowers the threshold for them to take the next step against you. But as Mulboyne points out, it may have been a plain sight sort of event, where the cops saw it on his person or using it in some fashion, and that therefore changes the dynamic of both the cops questioning and the old guy's likely response.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Mulb,

When my friend'd brother was visiting from the US a couple of years ago he was by himself in Shinjuku Station and got lost (easy to do, even if you've been here for years). He found a couple of police officers and asked them for directions and they asked him all kinds of questions about what he was doing and asked to see his passport. FYI, he's ethically South Asian had been partying all night so probably looked a bit rough. I guess if he had been white they wouldn't have done that though.