More news on Foreigner Crime File

  • Profiles of the Day
    • More at Japan Probe Friends...

    Update: FamilyMart has issued an apology for the sale of the magazine, so we are calling off our boycott on FamilyMart.

    [More information here.]

    A scan from Gaijin Ura Hanzai File [page 126], showing an poorly-paid member of the American military robbing a Japanese man. The American says “GIVE ME MONEY!”

    There have been some new developments in the story of the “Foreigner Crime File” magazine/book, so I thought I’d share a few with you:

    As of February 5th, FamilyMart has stated that they have instructed all stores to remove the magazine from their shelves immediately.

    FamilyMart Co. has responded to a Japanese language complaint e-mail sent by Ponta [original Japanese here]. Here is his translation:

    Subject:Apology to (Ponta’s name)

    Date:2007 Feb 5th

    Thanks you for using our shops and for viewing our homepage.
    We have received your opinion about gaijin ura file. The publisher just informed us of temporary title and we sold them without confirming its content. We started selling it from January 31st, and later we have found that there are parts that are inappropriate expressions in the magazine and so on February 5th we informed all our shops to immediately remove the magazine. We have had a precious opinion, and we’ll be paying attention to the customer’s opinions.

    Lastly, we hope you’ll enjoy Family Mart just as ever.

    Family Mart co. customer service
    Kato

    Now that FamilyMart is stating that they have already ordered the immediate removal of the magazine from their shelves, it is up to us to confirm that stores are actually complying. If you find a copy on the shelves of your local FamilyMart, take a picture of it or buy it and send a picture of the receipt to us. A good example of a receipt photograph would be the following, taken by Japan Probe reader Erik, who was able to purchase a copy of the magazine in the Motohasunuma area of Tokyo on Feb. 4:

    This latest news is quite good. Hopefully a wider apology will be forthcoming…


    A Chinese man picking the lock of someone’s house, while a shocked Japanese woman looks on. [Also from page 126]

    And a few news links about the issue:

    • According to Debito, he has experienced success personally visiting convenience stores that sell the magazine and getting them to remove the magazines from their shelves by presenting them with a Japanese copy of a complaint letter, which can be found on his site. [Link]
    • As many of you have probably guessed, “Joey H. Washington,” who is listed as the editor of the magazine is fake. [Link]
    • Richard Lloyd Parry, Asia Editor for The Times, has blogged about the magazine/boycott. [Link]

    Has anyone seen these at another convenience store, such as AM/PM or Daily Yamazaki? We would like to confirm the rumors of the magazine’s presence on their shelves, so please let us know!

    Related Posts with Thumbnails