Get Arrested
 

Yea! you heard right "get arrested" in Japan and you will laugh your socks off. I do not recommend this to the faint heart or idiots out there but any of you hard core crims should see the inside of a Japanese police station on your visit.

I got done at 3:30 am for moving a bycicle that was dumped in a bush. I thought I was doing a public service but under JP law moving another persons bike is an offence...
I suspected it was a plant (a setup) when I was caught moving this bike out of the bush. They wanted to take polaroids of me and the bike after the fact to which I refused. I was placed into the lovely Toyota police car with leather seats (plz take note crims) and rear electric windows and door releases in the rear.
At the station I was treated like a good criminal and was permitted to smoke at any time I wished tipping my ash into a police station custom ashtray. After complaining several times that I needed ramen I got a good bowl of the stuff and a box of cigs to keep me going.
I am not sure but I think the head honcho came to interview with me which allowed me much bowing practice. Damn! bow enough and these guys will let you off anything.
So in the end I asked who was the owner of the bike? they could not provide me with the ownership so I protested that I could not touch a bike that had no owner and be guilty. they agreed and drove me home in the lovely Toyota police car.

BTW. while in the police car I managed to play with the interior lights and electric windows with no attention from the JP police.

LOL that made me laugh so much. Did you dealt get arrested for moving a bike out of a bush? Those police must really ha e nothing beter to do

Don't touch the bike next time.

Maybe they didn't become so serious because of nature of the crime(?).

But my experience of police in japan is, well, kinda funny. I did not get into any trouble myself seeing as I am so well-behaved, but some things I saw during my 4 months there:

* A drunk american _punching_ a police officer in the stomach after beeing asked to come along, and the only consequence was that they (bout 4-5 officers) continued to ask him to come along with them.

* A police officer running a good 50 meters beside a drunk(seemed like) guy on a bicycle trying to get him to stop (and not just grabbing him)

* Another drunk guy in my guesthouse involved in, let's call it a domestic disturbance. Policemen came, tried to talk to him. He countered by screaming the police officers down, acting really bad. The policemen subsequently left and there were no consequences.

Man, I would never even imagine to punch a swedish police officer, let alone whilst surrounded by several more. Damn just to think of how fast I would be planted on the ground after something like that, lol.

But as you can see, I think I have to respect the japanese for this. They have the up most respect for people that they don't consider only themselves in the situation. Every one is intitled to a bad day, Your not the only person living in this world.

The Japanese are anal about bicycles, its probably because like 90% of the crime in Japan is related to either bicycles and umbrellas, don't even think about biking while drunk, it carries the same penalty as driving a car >.<

Just lol'ed. Don't really know if i understood you correctly, but I kind of hope not..

I don't see how a group of policemen failing to restrain a violent, drunk man earns anyones respect... That's not about having a bad day, it's about beeing an asshole (the man, not the police).

what?

I have been arrested in many countries due to the overuse of alcohol but in Japan I was very shocked to see the level of policing down to a matter of fact situation. It was almost as if the police were playing at being poilce and having a fun time wearing the costume.

At one point I asked an officer about his uniform and he proudly let me inspect his badges and buttons posing for me as he turned around to display his uniform. At any point if I was a bad criminal I could have done very bad things to the police officers knowing I would be ok.

In conclusion I would be very happy if I were a A+ No.1 criminal in Japan. I could pretty much f%ck up anyone including the police and feel happy in my job as I would never get any trouble from the law. It would seem that the police in Japan are more focused on the title of the job then the actual duities of the job.
I was treated with great respect and allowed to do what I pleased within limits inside the police station, this is something never to be seen in the UK.

You almost sound pround, odonata.

oi thats where your wrong odonata, the police don't seem to do a lot but help lost tourists and smile because there job isn't needed as much due to Japans stricter sense of values and the fact that organized crime in Japan generally refuses to prey on tourists. The Koban help drunk salary men into taxi's on a regular basis but it is a huge mistake to think that they are pushovers. Japan can hold you for a long time in jail for no particular reason other than you are a suspect or may have information to a crime, they like to be nice to foreigners especially when they think you may not know about the crime or custom (I mean come on moving a bike is a bit weird of an offense) but once you cross the line your not a innocent gaijin your a public disturbance and the Japanese do not like that. Oh and before you plot your carrier as the number 1 criminal in Japan I'll tell you one thing, the Yakuza are criminals that see themselves very nationalistic and they will kill you if you cross, trust me.

The police in Japan can hold you for 24 hours if they suspect you are involved in a crime, and quite often they can "renew" that holding period until a confession is presented.

If they get that confession, its all the evidence they need, regardless if its real or if you simply cracked.

I also fail to see why getting arrested is "fun".

Life happens once and to experience new and unusual things or situations is to live a full flavoured life.
During my life I have met some very colourful people that would have loved the easy way of the JP police. I for instance have been assaulted by the British police with no provocation, I have had guns, knives, bottles, bats and more used against me in various situations but I was arrested for helping a bike out of a bush which for me is very funny.
Due to my actions I was able to see the JP police force first hand at work and for me this was a interesting experience. I am just trying to relate my POV of policing in JP as opposed to UK, USA and Europe.

In the UK police are military, In USA police are semi-pro, in Japan police are hobby.

Did you ever think about why that might be?

A "hobby"? Did you really mean to put it that way?

He does.

What many people don't understand is the KOBAN system. Instead of having all the cops sitting in one police HQ, in Japan they are spread out all over in tiny little offices called KOBAN. In a country with almost no guns and almost no drugs the need for SWAT-type personnel is minimal.

When is the last time you have asked a cop for directions in the US or UK? I never have. But I have probably done it a dozen times in the few years I lived in Japan.

So yes, they aren't trained to sleeper-hold people tripping on meth, and it is easier to see them as weaker in Western eyes...and in many ways they are weaker...but they are stronger in other ways that a trip to jail and playing with the windows in the back of the policecar probably won't show you.

I understand what you're saying... But, I still wouldn't exactly consider that a hobby.
A cop is still a cop.

I'm just being anal about his use of words.

To be honest, I feel the same way. I don't feel that calling a person's job as a cop in Japan a "hobby". As you put it, a cop is still a cop. They still have their duty to protect and help those within the country.

I wish I could say that the US could get away with such things, as in hardly any gun related fatalities. I think, for my paper, I'm going to use Japan as my other example as a country where owning guns isn't permitted.

Japanese police officers may seem meek, and in most circumstances they are. But it's a cultural thing, all Japanese are meek to a certain extent. But all police officers here are trained in Judo and Kendo, so if you get one worked up to the point he grabs that meter long night stick from his bicycle, you are probably going to get hurt.

There is no ACLU in Japan. Outside in public the police may seem overly polite and understanding to criminals, but if you push them too hard when there is nobody watching, don't be surprised if they push back hard enough to make you look like you fell down a flight of stairs.

In most cases foreigners who commit minor infractions are dealt with using kid gloves. Larger infractions will get you deported quickly, and directly. You won't even have time to go to your hotel or apartment and collect your belongings. You will also be prohibited from returning to Japan for anything from 4 to 8 years.

Serious lawbreaking results in serious punishment here. If you are a foreigner, and have a good lawyer, you'll like get away with instant deportation and a lifetime ban from returning. If your lawyer is not so good, or your crime is violent, you'll spend some time in a very small Japanese prison cell before your permanent deportation.

The death penalty is strangely applied here. If you are sentenced to be executed, there is no date set. It can occur at any time without warning, from a few months to a few years. Condemned prisoners have no idea when they are going to be executed until they are led from their cell to the execution room.

As I write, I'm listening to the traffic drive by on Yaesu-dori (street) in Central Tokyo. The nearest police koban has only one prisoner today, a stray dog who was probably caught urinating in a prohibited place (there are "do not let your dog urinate here" signs all over the neighborhood). He'll be detained until his owner comes to the koban to bail him out.

Owning guns in Japan is permitted. There are about 200,000 people (regular citizens, not police or military) in the country licensed to own firearms. And gun violence does exist here. The mayor of Nagasaki was shot and killed by a gangster in a dispute over the gangster's damaged car and the city's refusal to pay for the damage. In another case, a woman at a health club was shot and killed by a stalker.

The most recent murder in the news was committed by another stalker type who killed his victim with a knife and then dismembered her body. Last month a police chase which ended near my home at Kujikuri Beach involved a man who was fleeing after being seen putting the dead body of a woman in his car. The car crashed into a pole down the street from where I live, and then burst into flames. The man was later caught, and the woman's burned body was recovered from the car.

Violent crimes do occur here.

This makes me wonder, what would you have to do to get into big, hardcore jail in Japan?

I never said violent crimes do not occur in Japan. They just occur at a much smaller rate than in the US. Same with gun crimes. Hunters are allowed to have licensed shotguns for hunting and skeet shooting, but almost none of the handful of gun deaths in Japan occur from legally possessed guns. Most are organized crime related and are usually premeditated. In the US nearly 30,000 people a year are killed by firearms (including accidents and suicide). Japan has half the population of the US, but surely less than 1% of the amount of gun deaths.

So it isn't as much of a concern in Japan.

Sorry for my use of the word hobby.
It was supposed to indicate the lowest form of militarisation by the police force used against public.

I think the Japanese police do a great job and was trying to get across from someone who has delt with many international police forces that I was surprised at how much respect and freedom was gifted to a potential unknown.

After working in various personal security roles I think I am more aware of the potential for violence and always take precautions. This difference in my perception is what caused amusment for me.

My first reaction when I realised I was getting a free ride to the police station was to offer my hands to be cuffed. The officer just looked them and motioned me to the car, he did not even restrain me or touch me.

I understand from a Japanese friend that it is quite different when you go to a holding cell and that a good thrashing can be expected.

Since you guys seem to know more than I do about this - I thought I'd stick this question in here;

Does japanese police interfere with domestic disputes, or try to stay out of them as much as possible? I remembered hearing something like this when I was there. For instance: a fight between a husband and a wife - to what extent will the police interfere, and when?