Are police detaining foreigners who ask for directions?

Brian Hedge submitted a letter to The Japan Times Online that briefly details the purported tribulations of his elderly associate, an elderly male American tourist that got a surprise when he went into a police box to ask some directions. Brian claims that the following happened:

On July 2 in Shinjuku, a 74-year-old American tourist walked into a police box to ask directions. Inside the koban [police box] were an older (senior) officer and his younger (rookie?) colleague.

The American asked where Kinokuniya bookstore was, and the older police officer responded by asking the tourist if he had a pocket knife. The American, being the law-abiding citizen that he is, said “yes” and handed it to the senior officer. After a quick measurement of the blade, the officer arrested the 74-year-old for having a pocket knife 1 cm over the legal limit.

The most shocking part to the story is that a new revision of a law regarding pocket knives was subject to a moratorium until July 5, meaning those possessing knives that violate the new rules had until July 4 to dispose of them! Moreover, two other American tourists were arrested that same day at the same koban.

It’s hard to say whether or not the story is true however; even some of Debito’s readers are skeptical. My personal opinion is that the officer’s inquiry seems like a thing that could happen very easily in Japan. We’ve heard tales of police officers stopping foreigners and inquiring about knives or asking for ID or even urine samples. Of course, many of these events remain mere unsubstantiated tales.

On the other hand, whenever I’ve been stopped by the cops, they had a reason, albeit minor. Once my bike’s light was off at dusk. Another time, I had to explain why my bike lock was missing. Both times I had to produce an ID, but the encounters were fairly friendly. So what I’m trying to say is that I don’t think cops usually act without some kind of legal handhold to proceed on. I can’t help but wonder if the old man in this story had the pocketknife attached to a key-chain or the like and unintentionally had it out in the officers’ presence. We don’t know the details, and that’s what makes this story problematic.

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Contributor Bio: Claytonian blogs about Japan, language, and news at The Hopeless Romantic, and vlogs on YouTube as well.
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76 comments - What do you think? Posted by Claytonian - July 28, 2009 at 1:57 pm

Categories: General Japan Tags:

binsentokun

The only encounter I’ve had so far was on my first trip to Japan when I asked two police officers walking their beat if I could take a picture with them. They began asking me a lot of questions. Luckily, my wife was with me, so she answered most of them for me. They asked my purpose for visiting and asked if I was going to cause any problems (although I knew they were joking and most likely said this because of my size). We all laughed and they let me take the pic after all.
http://whatjapanthinks.com Ken Y-N

Q1: Why did Debito not ring up the Shinjuku cops when he did ring up the urine testing Azuba cops?

Q2: Why has no-one else rung them or the US Embassy; not even Japan Times have done that? 3 US tourists (only US tourists?) all nicked on the same day for the same offense, presubably.

Q3: This Brian Hedge fellow and his email address seem to be genuine; what does he have to gain by lying, except for exposing Debito and Japan Times as worthless news sources that sometimes do zero fact checking?

Q4: The law was for dagger knife, two-sided fixed blades, which is not a pocket knife, and flick-knives are illegal in many US states, let alone Japan, so the amnesty story doesn’t add up.

Q5: Do you honestly believe the cops are fishing for tourists who come in looking for directions?
- http://surrealu.blogspot.com Claytonian
  
  “Q5: Do you honestly believe the cops are fishing for tourists who come in looking for directions?”
  
  As I said in the post, my suspicion is that if this really happened, it was most likely not a sudden question out of the blue, but an inquiry based on something the cop saw, like a pocket knife out in the open attached to the man’s person. I also said there is hearsay that cops ask to check various things from backpack to bladder contents.
  - Lordpatrickhenry
    
    This is in japan. cosmopolitan views like those in america don’t apply in a homogenous society. If you have to go to a country like this, keep your head down and know where you are going. Japan is going to hell really fast.
Stereo

There are three categories of knives.
(1) A sward, a spear, a halberd, a dagger or a spring knife whose blade length is longer than 5.5 cm.
(2) Any knife, other than (1), whose blade length is longer than 6 cm, except that is,
(2-1) a foldable knife that does not have a clasp, whose blade width is shorter than 1.5 cm, and whose blade thickness is less than 2.5 mm,
(2-2) a kitchen knife whose blade length is shorter than 8 cm, and whose blade thickness is less than 1.5 mm,
(3) Any knife or any object that has an edge

To possess knives in category (1), one needs a license or faces 3 years or less in prison and fine of 500,000 yen or less. (銃砲刀剣類所持等取締法 Guns and Swards Control Act, article 3, article 31-16)

One cannot carry knives in category (2) without “due reason”. Punishment for violation is 2 years or less in prison and fine of 300,000 yen or less. (銃砲刀剣類所持等取締法 Guns and Swards Control Act, article 22, article 31-18)

One cannot carry knives in category (3) in concealment without “due reason”. Punishment for violation is 30 days or less in prison and petit fine of 10,000 yen or less. (軽犯罪法 Code of Misdemeanor, article 1, item 2)

Which category was his pocketknife fall into? The law change on July 4 was about category (1). Was he carrying a sward, a spear, a halberd, a dagger or a spring knife?

By the way, how did he bring his pocketknife in to Japan? Do not they X-ray his luggage?
- http://surrealu.blogspot.com Claytonian
  
  Haven’t you seen LOST, son? I know, just a TV show, but I think you can transport a few pointy things as long as they aren’t in your carry on. I’m not clear on Japan airport policy though.
  - lovely
    
    yes, you can transport your swiss army knife in your checked luggage. i know quite a lot of men who carry these – there are mini-tool kits – some complete with toothpicks, screwdrivers, etc. never measured my husband`s knife but i guess we should. i am inclined to beleive that the police saw it hanging from his keychain and decided to “get their quota” so to speak and to train the newbie as a bonus. by the way, i have been here almost 20 years and have seen, heard and read about a lot strange crap that goes on here.
- LB
  
  Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe those punishments should read as “XX days or less in prison OR a fine of YY yen or less”. I believe it is “either/or” not “both/and”.
  - Stereo
    
    To be precise, the punishment is either “XX days or less in prison, a fine of YY yen or less, or both”.
    Guns and Swards Control Act, article 34
    Code of Misdemeanor, article 2
    - LB
      
      Thank you for the clarification. From what I have heard and read about actual practice under Japanese law, usually it is one or the other. Pay a fine or go to jail.
    - Stereo
      
      A judge decides the punishment. A convicted person does not have a choice.
- Level3
  
  I’ll just start by noting I won’t believe this story until it pops up in a major media source (other than the sketchy New York Times) with appropriate comments (or rather “No comments”) from the J cops.
  
  The problem with the rules about “due reason” is it gives the police the right to harass you and question you in order to investigate the “due reason”, and the ability to not accept your “due reason”, apparently for having ANYTHING with an edge, including Swiss Army Knives, or even a pointy stick. If it has “an edge”, you have to justify carrying it.
  
  We assume they are only going to be questioning you for carrying a harmless pocket knife if they already WANT to arrest you, maybe because they’re gaijin, maybe because they look funny, maybe because they’re trying to send a message, maybe because they’re meeting a quota. It certainly isn’t for the purpose of making the streets safer, but then the J cops aren’t really into that “To Serve and Protect” thing.
  
  The police can determine how many times they can ask you for due reason, and can pretend whatever reason you have is not good enough. Their actual goal being to provoke you into taking any sort of action (such as simply trying to walk away, or even raising your voice in frustration) which then allows them to arrest you for “interfering in the duties of a public official”.
  Then you have “actually” “broken the law” and they get more points toward their quota, because they can’t arrest you for just having a pocket knife.
  
  This is why they were on a rampage of bag searches and stops of harmless otaku in Akihabara after the stabbing murders.
  And I believe there was an article here on Japan Probe, with photos and video of the Akihabara cops spending 90 minutes surrounding and yelling at some unlucky dude who had a pocket knife in his bag. He was smart and didn’t give them the reaction they wanted, so they eventually gave up and he walked away.
  
  The sad thing is, the cops are CREATING criminals out of innocent people, rather than locking up real criminals.
  If I get busted for carrying my Swiss Army Knife, and lose my job because I got arrested (even for a bullshit charge I’m later cleared on) and have trouble getting a visa renewal or another job because I have an arrest record, they have CREATED a criminal. Why should someone bother obeying other stupid laws, like paying pension dues? health insurance? NHK dues? Or would someone go further and do REAL crime, just out of spite for this bullshit “justice” system?
  
  BTW, what’s the rule on carrying baseball bats? A nice aluminum bat is a lot more dangerous than a 6cm knife.
  - Stereo
    
    軽犯罪法
    第一条　左の各号の一に該当する者は、これを拘留又は科料に処する。
    二　正当な理由がなくて刃物、鉄棒その他人の生命を害し、又は人の身体に重大な害を加えるのに使用されるような器具を隠して携帯していた者
    
    Code of Misdemeanor
    Article 1. A person who falls into one of the following shall be imprisoned (30 days or less) or levied a petit fine (10,000 yen or less).
    Item2. A person who carries in concealment without due reasons a knife (anything with a cutting edge), a metal bar or other object that may be used to harm life of other people or to severely injure body of people.
    
    An aluminum baseball bat may be considered a metal bar.
    - The Overthinker
      
      But it would be so easy to come up with a 正当な理由 for an aluminium baseball bat. “Just off to the batting cage, officer,” vs “Off to cooking school….?”
LB

This story smells in so many ways it isn’t even funny. Aside from what was previously mentioned about the law in question not relating to pocket knives, there is the situation presented (“Excuse me officer, where is the Kinokuniya?” “I’d be glad to tell you, but first: do you have a knife on you?” “Why yes, here it is, care to measure it?”), the idea that they would lock up a tourist for 9 days just for having such a 1-cm-too-long pocket knife, that they got no less then THREE (!) tourists, all Americans, all on the same day, all at the same Koban… come on, what did they do, post a big sign out front in English? “Pocket knife carrying American tourists welcome!”

Then there are the obvious issues Brian himself seems to have with his “Why are Japanese not arrested?” and “Japan is a horrible place to visit and extremely unsafe if you are not Japanese.” And of course, this had to happen to his “friend’s father”. Maybe it is the cynic in me, but whenever I hear these stories that begin “this xxx of a friend/coworker/guy I know…” red lights and warning bells start going off.

Ken asked why he would lie – perhaps to discredit Debito and the Japan Times? Perhaps as a cry for attention? Perhaps he really believes the story is true? Who knows. I do know that just because a letter to the editor (which is basically what this is) appears in JT does not mean it is so, or give it any more “credibility”, even though Debito seems to think so (which is hypocritical considering how he is so quick to discount anything printed therein that he disagrees with).

Like Ken said – this could probably be verified or discounted with a couple of phone calls. I doubt Debito will do that, since he has already tried to wash his hands of responsibility with his usual “I’m just providing a forum, I’m not responsible for the content of my own website, talk to Brian directly.” So we are left with an extremely fishy, unsubstantiated bit of hearsay that most people seem to be rightfully suspicious of, and a small minority of credulous people who are basically the Japan blogging world’s version of Truthers insist has to be true.

I will leave it up to others to figure out which of those two groups Debito is in.
- http://whatjapanthinks.com Ken Y-N
  
  LB, yes, of course there’s the “I hate Japan/Japanese police/anyone Japanese who doesn’ agree with me” type of person that this Brian might be, so is willing to either lie or be taken in by anything that portrays Japan in a bad light.
  
  Oh, and “[h]e carries his pocket knife everywhere” – he should have had it confiscated at US airport security then.
Yom

im just glad to hear they are keeping these crazy knife wielding foreignness off the streets!

Good job J-Police
gtg

Pics or it didnt happen!
The guy was a tourist so there should have been some camera around

But Honestly – lets just wait a few days and it will clear itself. If it really happened the old guy will have a hell of a story and will definitely come forward to some foreign tv network/newspaper. If we do not hear again from him, lets just forget the whole thing…
Jimbo

True or not true, it seems to me at least that is Americans who have all these problems with police and Japan. Americans in particular seem to have a difficult time adapting to Japan and are always on the lookout for something different or “weird” in comparison to their supposedly wonderful and perfect culture. Just skim through blogs written by Americans in Japan and you’ll see headings like “weird Japan,” “Strange Japan,” “Stupid Japanese,” and other similar headings.

If you come here to live or visit, accept that it is a different culture, shut your mouth and get on with living. I am really sick of all the Americans and their “Japanese are picking on us” syndrome. If you don’t like Japan, pack up and go home.

That said, there is NO reason to carry a knife, on your person, in Japan. If you get caught, then you deserve to be treated with suspicion.
- RMilner
  
  I often carry a Swiss Army Knife. It’s useful for a lot of minor utility tasks such as cutting string, opening letters, trimming pencils, opening bottles, and driving screws.
  
  Obviously there are specialist tools for all these tasks, but who wants to carry a bagful of clutter when one small tool will do?
- Gaijinocchio
  
  Nice of you to stoop down to the same level of these awful awful Americans you’re blithering about by offering broad sweeping generalizations of a country. Got a grudge? I’ve heard Canadians, New Zealanders, Africans, Indians, Australians, and even Japanese complain over here. Americans are not alone.
  
  You sound like a troll, nobody likes trolls, so don’t do it FULL STOP.
  
  Anyways, this knife story is totally lacking in details so I’m skeptical. For something as serious as being arrested for such a long time, you would think there would be a much larger outrage and details already, particularly at the American embassy. Could this be a hoax?
ponta

You have the contact details of the poster. Contact him directly. I notified him this morning that commenters here have questions. If we get no further responses within a decent amount of time, I will pull this blog entry with apologies.
debito.org/?p=3962#comment-180640

Let’s wait and see.
The decent amount of time is one day or so in the similar cases on his blog.
- LB
  
  I say it will stay. Debito is digging in and countering people who want evidence or who question the story. He’s painted himself into a corner, and I have yet to see him back down even when he’s wrong. Remember the ballet school? He promised to apologize and pull that if proven wrong, which he was, but he didn’t.
  - Bad Wold
    
    The ballet school incident is what I thought of as well.
  - http://whatjapanthinks.com Ken Y-N
    
    And the ballet school has even ended up in the Rogues’ Gallery
    - ponta po
      
      But for some reason, Japan Times which posted “Japanese only” ads did NOT even end up in the Rogues’ Gallery.
      debito.org/?p=2645
      Ah, he got paid for writing the column on it.
BZ

Wait a minute, I thought that the ballet school was one of the times that Debito was right! No?
- LB
  
  No.
  
  http://www.debito.org/?p=838#comment-100805
  - Sumobob
    
    Sorry, LB, but if one reads between the lines one can recognize what that letter represents; part face-saving and part international diplomacy.
    
    The ballet school was clearly at fault (specifically, the receptionist. Whether she was acting on orders from the owner we do not know). A formal complaint was raised by the victim through diplomatic channels as well as a very (somewhat regrettable) public airing on debito.org. The public shaming led to a meeting which ended up with the formal complaint (a potential diplomatic incident) being withdrawn, an apology by the school along with commitments from the school to attend cultural discrimination and sensitivity classes offered by the government clearly shows a face-saving gesture on both sides was reached.
    
    Make no mistake, the victims (high level diplomat and his wife) had no reason to call the school’s initial actions anything but discriminatory. Neither did their Japanese translator, who confirmed the “intent” (as well as being shocked) of the school’s refusal.
    - LB
      
      And equally sory, Sumobob, but think about it: an international ballet school in Minami-Azabu (one of the most international areas of Tokyo), with a lot of enrolled foreign students, and that proudly advertises that fact. Except that they are racists who won’t let foreigners in….
      
      Riiiiiight.
      
      They should have sued Debito for every penny he still has.
    - Sumobob
      
      Oh yes, they did have some international students; two white American girls and a Chinese student. Based on the evidence given, only certain foreign children (who fit a profile) were allowed in.
    - LB
      
      “Based on the evidence given…” they had no open slots. For anyone of that age group or level. Race/color/creed etc. had nothing, nada, zip to do with it. Period. Full Stop. That was all covered on Debito’s blog, inconvenient little facts you (and he) seem to have either missed or are willfully ignoring.
Dangomushi

Guns, knives, weapons of any kind… why would anyone want to carry those kinds of things on them in any case? I’ve never found a reasonable use for them. I keep some knives in my kitchen, and that’s all.
- RMilner
  
  I often carry a Swiss Army Knife. It’s useful for a lot of minor utility tasks such as cutting string, opening letters, trimming pencils, opening bottles, and driving screws.
  
  Obviously there are specialist tools for all these tasks, but who wants to carry a bagful of clutter when one small tool will do?
  - http://whatjapanthinks.com Ken Y-N
    
    And of course it’s legal to carry such an implement, as long as the blade isn’t lockable and isn’t double-sided.
    
    I’m wondering how long before “J-satsu even arrest tourists for asking for directions” starts appearing being quoted as fact on Japan Today’s comments.
    - http://blogger.xs4all.nl/kajcom/ Kaijuu
      
      Not lockable? Then I’m F-ed; doubly so.
      My Leatherman Wave multitool has two 7cm blades (one of them jagged), and those lock into place to avoid the user cutting himself in case something happens where the blade wants to go back into its designated slot and my fingers are in the way.
      
      So according to those new rules, my multitool is effectively outlawed in Japan.
      I wonder if they still sell that model at Tokyu Hands.
    - The Overthinker
      
      Hell, last time I was at my local Jusco, all the cooking knives were replaced by empty boxes….
http://througheyesfromafar.blogspot.com/ The Envoy

And to think that the J-police were afraid of a naked gaijin running around in the Imperial Palace.
- Level3
  
  They were afraid his gaijin “sword” was longer than their Japanese ones.
  
  I guess that’s the origin of the 6cm number.
- me
  
  They weren’t afraid, they just didn’t want to use force.
ralph

if the tourist said no, could the cops search him?

i don’t carry a swiss army knife, but if i did, i wouldn’t consider it a knife
- The Overthinker
  
  Okay, you asked for it mate….
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01NHcTM5IA4
  “Thet’s not a knaif…”
  - http://www.japanprobe.com James
    
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xqghpm4gXf4
- RMilner
  
  I checked the legal advice given to US forces personnel stationed in Japan.
  
  For obvious reasons, military people often have a lot of knives, so when the law changed they were advised on how to deal with it.
  
  It’s basically double-edge knives and locking knives which are illegal to carry now, unless you have a good reason for doing so. For example, a good reason to carry a diver’s knife is if you were going diving. You need to have your diving gear with you as well. Long bladed knives are also banned, however it would be acceptable to carry a kitchen knife if you were ring it home from the shops, or if you were a professional chef on your way to work.
  
  A simple penknife like a Swiss Army knife is still OK.
som the big hairy smith and jones

1: how comes that american tourists have knifes with then in a city?
2: why they not arest yakuzas lurking in the next street with guns and swords?
Eddie

Debito is so desperately looking for stories of “discrimination” that he has to use stories that have no evidence to validate whether they are true or not.

I think we should all make up stories and send them to Debito.
- Billy O
  
  To be fair, Debito is just relaying what is reported to him by others, impartially and without any spin. It is up to the reader to decide. He’s just like Fox News for the “gaijin” community.
  - LB
    
    “impartially and without any spin.”
    
    Ah. Like this (all quotes of Debito on this story)?
    
    “Yokoso Japan y’all, too bad if you’re in the way when police have crime-stoppage point quotas to fill.”
    
    “Well, how about this for a scenario:
    
    Man goes on knife rampage in Akihabara, kills several people, causes huge shock to the nation. One of a number of indiscriminate knifings and cycle-by slashings that one hears about on the wide shows ad nauseam.
    
    Police are told to crack down on knives. Japanese people are now being stopped and having their bags searched for weapons. New law gets passed to shorten the tolerance for length for knives carried in public.
    
    Police have crime-prevention point-system tally quotas to fill. Police see convenient foreigner, not on a bike this time (the typical kikkake for ID checks in the search for possible stolen property, not to mention asking about drugs and knives these days; been reading this blog?). He’s actually come a the Police Box (where, incidentally, the questionee cannot refuse questions since there is no doubt people manning the Police Box are police).
    
    Knives are the crime-prevention torishimari campaign du jour. Tourist gets asked about one in passing. Cooperation ensues. So does enforcement of the letter of the law, since said tourist is in violation, regardless of whatever mitigating standards (advanced age, tourist status, or unawareness of law) may apply.
    
    Could just say the knife is in violation of the law and confiscate it (like at border controls). But what would happen if during the nationwide anti-knife campaign word got out that we let somebody off? Everyone would make that excuse and want amnesty! Mayhem would ensue. Sorry, old man, you’re nicked.
    
    This is what went through my head when I read Brian’s report. If you’ve had much dealings with the Japanese police (I have, and plenty more people have had plenty more), none of this is much of a logical stretch.”
    
    “Have the laws regarding knives not been tightened up recently? The Japan Times says they have.
    
    And with tighter laws means new police enforcement campaigns. Too bad if you’re a tourist caught in the campaign.”
    
    And if someone tries to ask for verification?
    
    “Yeah, a police report. “Thanks for staying with us. Here’s your police report as a souvenir. Enjoy the rest of your stay in Japan.” Now why didn’t I think of that?”
    
    ““George”, whoever he is, is hardly a person I’d attach the word “loyal” to. He has a history of trolling…”
    
    Yeah. Completely impartial. Riiiight.
    - The Overthinker
      
      I think Billy O was being sarcastic, knowing Fox News’s reputation.
    - LB, aka “Miss Emily Litella”
      
      Oh… well… that’s very different.
      
      Never mind!
    - Billy O
      
      Yeah, The Overthinker got it. What I really think is [iyami deleted][invective snipped].
    - LB
      
      @BillyO – three points, nothing but net!
http://1000thingsaboutjapan.blogspot.com/ Orchid64

Those who doubt the validity of “unsubstantiated” stories like this should outline what it would take to “substantiate” them. \

Also, why would anyone make something like this up? What’s the point? I find it hard to believe that random foreigners are wasting their time writing letters to the Japan Times with fictional stories just to paint Japanese police in a negative light. In light of all of the searches that have been going on, this seems like a pretty credible story.

What exactly does it take to believe what people say? It seems to me that you have to at least see the stories as the truth unless you have a reason to believe otherwise rather than vice versa. Otherwise, sites like Japan Probe might as well pack it in as you can’t believe anything it repeats, even from seemingly legit news sources since you can’t substantiate them either. Just because a news outlet says it, it doesn’t mean it’s true. We know that journalists have lied and distorted the truth.
- Even Better…
  
  “Those who doubt the validity of “unsubstantiated” stories like this should outline what it would take to “substantiate” them.”
  … police report, details about the Koban in question, any photos, the ID numbers of police, correspondnce from the old man in question, correspondance/confirmation of embassy involvement or embassy official who handled the case, location/name of detention centre
  
  any of that would do.
  
  “why would anyone make something like this up? What’s the point? ”
  … to continue a stream of anti-Japan/Japanese police invective
  …or to create fake news to see if they can catch either the traditional press or bloggers (like Debito) for trading in junk news stories.
  Try this one here for example (if itself is true and not a hoax)… http://dokdoisours.blogspot.com/2009/05/dokdo-is-ours-pwns-korea-times.html
- LB
  
  “Those who doubt the validity of “unsubstantiated” stories like this should outline what it would take to “substantiate” them.”
  Names. Confirmation from the authorities, either the police that they did hold three Americans for questioning that day in Akihabara, or from the US Embassy that three US citizens were taken in. But I am not holding my breath that either of those will be forthcoming.
  
  Sorry, Shari, but not all of us are credulous enough to believe this. We have one guy writing an e-mail to Debito laying out a rather fantastic scenario, then he writes a letter to the Japan Times that has a couple of key points changed as compared to the e-mail version.
  
  “I find it hard to believe that random foreigners are wasting their time writing letters to the Japan Times with fictional stories just to paint Japanese police in a negative light.”
  
  And I find it hard to believe there are people out there wasting their time writing blog entries about how they are paranoid that every time they take out the trash in the morning, they have to take their wallet for fear that they could be at risk for being hauled off for detention and questioning. Or calling anyone who doesn’t share their view a “Gaijin Uncle Tom” with “interesting psychological issues at play”.
  
  And yet, such sad, pathetic people exist. I’ve seen all manner of totally ridiculous and laughably easy to disprove things said by people who are only saying them to get attention. Is this the case with Brian? Not sure – but he could clear up people’s questions over at Debito’s site, and isn’t doing so.
  - Even Better…
    
    And as of today (30/7 1420 Japan time) there is still no response from Brian over at Debito.org, nor any action from the blog owner to authenticate the story (or even at least try to).
    - LB
      
      Yup. And now that someone sent in good information (and it IS good information, I recommend everyone read it: http://www.debito.org/?p=3962#comment-180808 ) Debito thinks the post must stay: “With information this good, I can’t rightly delete this blog entry now, can I?”
      
      I suppose creating a new entry with the correct info would be too difficult or something…
      
      Although (and I am getting off topic, forgive me) the next comment in line is classic in its own way. While the poster makes a point about reasons to not delete even if it is known a blog entry is erroneous, the bit about “Soviet-era rewritings” where “people were airbrushed out of photos” has a peculiar ironic ring to it when placed on that particular blog.
MikeGuest

I’m curious…
What are the odds against THREE American tourists, all carrying illegal pocket knives, going into the same koban on the same day?

Still curious-
How would Brian know that two more American tourists were arrested that day and at that place? Are the stats kept outside next to those ‘traffic death’ counts you sometimes see?

Genuinely asking-
Do tourists ask for directions at koban? Obviously, citizens and foreign residents do, but tourists? In any other country a police office would be one of the last places I’d be going into to ask for directions. This latter point is not a suspicion per se, I just find it a bit surprising.

Anyway, people tend to choose to believe or doubt an account based on two qualities. First, is the account internally consistent and second, does it corroborate with what they already know/believe about the world? For me this story falls short on both counts. I suppose though if you believe things like, ‘J cops pick up random foreigners for urine tests upon suspicion of being foreign while drinking’ you would be more prone to accept Brian’s account at face value.
- http://whatjapanthinks.com Ken Y-N
  
  Mike, the random urine testing was basically true, and I had no problem accepting (from the point of view of the story being true, not from a civil liberties POV) that the police would ask people pouring out of pubs known to be druggie hangouts for samples.
  
  However, this story has far too many holes – I’d have given “Brian” the benefit of the doubt if it had been one person arrested, if the bogus knife amnesty argument hadn’t been thrown in, if the tourist hadn’t been chucked in clink for nine days, and if he hadn’t taken the “I hate the J-cops” attitude. All this story is now doing is reinforcing Debito’s feelings that we Uncle Toms are all out to get him.
  - LB
    
    “All this story is now doing is reinforcing Debito’s feelings that we Uncle Toms are all out to get him.”
    
    SHHHH! Don’t give it away man! Oh rats, I just gave it away!!!
  - Even Better…
    
    Ken Y-N makes a good and highly relevant point.
    There are many comments referencing “‘J cops pick up random foreigners for urine tests” and this needs to be knocked on the head.
    YES they were foreign, AND Japanese
    YES they were ‘randomly selected’, BUT THE CONTEXT IS PARAMOUNT. Exiting a bar known/assumed as a drug den must be highlighted. Being in/near such places multiplies the ‘chance’ of being stopped/tested significantly (to say the least). Therefore the ‘randomness’ is reduced.
    
    If you accept an invitation to trouble, then you should expect same.
    
    Those commenter’s citing this “‘J cops pick up random foreigners for urine tests” and linking to to this ‘Brian’ story only highlight their prejudices and reinforce stereotypes or misinformation.
- LB
  
  “Do tourists ask for directions at koban? ”
  
  I would have to double-check, but I believe that ancient copy of the Lonely Planet guide I have at home specifically mentions Koban as “a good place to ask for directions if lost”. So it is possible for a tourist to have received that advice. That was one of the few aspects of the story I did not have trouble with. But it all went downhill from there…
  
  “First, is the account internally consistent and second, does it corroborate with what they already know/believe about the world?”
  (nods head in agreement) Yup. Fails on both counts – double fails if you count the fact there are two versions of this tale out there (on Debito.org and on the JT website) which don’t agree with each other.
  
  I think the key for those who are willing to buy this and heckle the “non-believers” is, as you said, the second quality. To them, Brian does not have to corroborate anything because they will believe basically anything that reinforces their sense of being a persecuted minority.
  
  Or worse, as Shari kind of tip-toed around above without actually coming out and saying: Brian’s a “foreigner”. He is “one of us”, therefore what he says must be true because why would we lie to each other about Japan?
  
  I wonder – do these people think we’re Freemasons or something?
  - hoihoi
    
    I wonder – do these people think we’re Freemasons or something?
    
    Yes, the human right activist would do ..
- Stereo
  
  >Do tourists ask for directions at koban?
  
  I wonder how good the English ability of the policemen was.
  Did the old man spoke them in Japanese?
- nigelboy
  
  “What are the odds against THREE American tourists, all carrying illegal pocket knives, going into the same koban on the same day?”
  
  Last year, there were 83 foreigners arrested for the violation of Guns and Swords Control Act (銃砲刀剣類所持等取締法). Of which, 51 of those were committed by Chinese, Koreans, Phillipinos, Thais, and Iranians) which leaves 33 were committed by “others” (Brazilians, Peruvians, Vietnamese, Columbians, Pakistani, Taiwanese, and others including U.S.)
  
  There are 365 days a year. There are over 6,000 kobans in Japan.
  
  I’m no statiscian but the chances of the alleged incident happening is like for me to get hit by a lightning twice????
  
  But of course, I can’t prove that it didn’t happen. Nor that any of you could prove that I’m not 10ft tall with three legs and eight nipples.
  
  But again, we’re talking about the world of Debito here where a person has the Guiness World Record of being stopped by the police and is assumed to be true.
MikeGuest

Ken-
I understand your points that one story has a basis in fact while the other remains completely unconfirmed and, in many respects, dubious.

My point is that those inclined to take Brian’s story at face value would also likely be those who regurgitated the worst possible interpretation of the urine testing story. In other words, it all fits into a belief in widespread and sustained J-satsu harassment of foreigners.

Even Better- We may be misunderstanding one another. I was agreeing that the ‘random foreigners’ spin on the urine testing story was inaccurate. It seems to fit into a type of wishful thinking for victimization by proxy (and one which all too often belittles real victims).

LB- I’ve seen these Uncle Tom/apologist comments too- a type of ‘You’re either with us or your against us’ motif. It reeks of ‘Don’t betray your own kind! Are you a traitor to your own people?’ Hmmm- where does one usually come across this kind of rhetoric?

I guess automatic knee-jerk tribal support for someone simply because they look or sound like ‘us’ is rated more highly than accuracy or truth (and, yes, if Brian’s story turns out to be accurate and true I would get behind it). For friends, family or even on a sports club it may be reasonable to battle in the corner of loyalty. But merely because someone is an NJ like me do I have an automatic obligation to believe and support them?

No.
LB

We have a response (of sorts…)

http://www.debito.org/?p=3962#comment-180825

“The revision of the Firearms and Sword Control Law was enforced Jan. 5 this year. For those who had possessed illegal knives as of Jan. 5 had six months (until July 4) to dispose the illegal knives.”

Well, actually that would be 7 months by my calendar, assuming the January 5th date is correct…

“In case of the 74-year-old man he clearly brought an illegal knife to Japan before Jan. 5, so it was illegal for him to possess it July 1.”

I thought he was a tourist? That would be a three-month visa, so how did he bring the knife into Japan “before January 5th” when he was in Japan in July? And what does “July 1″ have to do with it? Brian said this all happened on July 2nd, and the grace period ended “July 5th” (yet another date, the third he has given for when the law went into effect/the grace period ended).

Curiouser and curiouser….

Brian, if you happen to read this, you are in a hole, stop digging. Please.
- The Overthinker
  
  Tecnically possible. He has a son living in Japan. He arrives as a tourists, stays his three months, then leaves, and comes right back again, leaving the knife with his son.
  As I said, it’s *technically* possible….
  - http://www.japanprobe.com James
    
    But the original letter says the old man “carries his pocket knife everywhere.” Surely he wouldn’t leave it behind in Japan!
    - Stereo
      
      I think “before Jan. 5″ should have been “after Jan.5″.
  - LB
    
    Agreed, technically possible. And it seems Brian has (finally) gotten the dates right – as of January 5th this year, it was illegal to possess double-edged knives with a length of greater than 5.5 cm. Those possessing such knives had until July 5th to turn such weapons in to the police and not face prosecution.
    
    However, this change in the law in no way applies to “pocket knives” and is completely irrelevant to any claims that someone’s dad was arrested, hauled off to interrogation, and held for 9 days. Even assuming that the “pocket knife” in question was a dagger over 5.5 cm long, the grace period only applied to turning the knives in. It was 100% illegal to be walking around with such a knife from January 5th, foreigner or Japanese.
samuel welsh

well as long as they also check japanese for this im fine
LB

Well, kinda… actually I believe it was because they refused “foreign-looking” Japanese nationals. And were stupid enough to say that was why they were refusing service. That kind of crap is illegal, as it should be.
LB

Actually, Brian wrote to Debito on July 10th, the day his friend’s father allegedly got out of holding. It was already too late to ask for advice – not that he would have received any anyways, it took Debito another two and a half weeks to decide to post this tale of blatant police abuse of power against an NJ.

I guess he was too busy with other things in the interim – like pondering why WWII Japanese schoolbooks were all written in Katakana, and left-to-right to boot, or thinking about “bloat in the bio-gas market”, or “Sapporo’s Summer of Love”….

You know, important issues.
The Overthinker

“like pondering why WWII Japanese schoolbooks were all written in Katakana, and left-to-right to boot”

Was he? I must check….
More than the use of katakana (any glance at publications from back in the day will show that katakana was not used the way it is now) the use of チュウクヮ for 中華（チュウカ）is interesting. In fact the entire post is one of his more interesting, though places like MF and Frog in a Well have commentary that is actually educated in the subject (I refer to the commentary attached to the pics, not the comments left by readers).
Billy O

“Actually, Brian wrote to Debito on July 10th…”

So he did. I must be more careful to check my facts before committing them to print…

Are police detaining foreigners who ask for directions?

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