I haven't gotten around to writing recently due to a final paper for my MBA beating my brains out, and then traveling with visiting family, but now that brains have been recovered/reinstalled (along with my OS, but that's another story), family has gone home, and my degree is in hand, I can now get back to writing about some of the weird shit that happens to me here.
So, I got home the other day (or back to my train station) from a lunch thing and was greeted by the usual throngs of people milling about on a weekend afternoon, plus the inevitable marketing technicians handing out fliers for their respective businesses, shouting the latest deals offered, or just shamelessly begging for your money. And as usual, I wound my way through the crowd, trying not to make eye contact with any part of the Collective. Suddenly, a short (by Japanese standards), well-dressed Japanese woman probably in her 40s came up alongside me and asked in broken English if I spoke Japanese. I responded in the affirmative, and she clearly wanted my attention for something, but we were in the middle of a crowd and I could barely hear her, much less respond intelligently, so I followed her outside the teeming masses where she could tell me exactly what was so important.
At this point, I was assuming...I don't know. I had at first guessed she was a tourist, but they usually ask me if I speak English. I genuinely hoped this wasn't some marketing ploy by yet another pile of ignorant douchebags trying to pander to the foreigner crowd here as if they actually represent only a single demographic - but no, this woman had no corporate uniform on and seemed just too slick and professional to be out on the streets annoying people. She clearly had more of a capable, experienced demeanor, too, than some jackoff trolling for commissions. Briefly, fear struck me. Well-dressed, clean and crisp manner, devoted to her mission... Jehovah's Witness!! Nooooo!!!! God save me from your followers! My eyes darted left and right for an escape route, but mercifully I was wrong.
Once we got over to a guardrail and could hear ourselves think again, she addressed me in Japanese and revealed that she was an officer of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police. Having done nothing wrong, knowing at least reasonably what my rights here are, and being in a crowded public area, I was so far unconcerned, but rather curious. She explained to me that (I'm translating from only memory here, but this is more or less accurate) there had been a number of problems related to foreigners and crime in Tokyo recently, and would I mind if she ask me a few questions? She had spoken very politely to me, and before I could respond, she asked if I would like to see her badge. I nodded, knowing that foreigners and cops here do not always get along on the shiniest of terms*. My curiosity at this point was tipping the scales.
*This is an absurd, gigantic can of Arrakis-sized worms that I am not going to break open here because A) What I do know could fill pages, and B) I don't know nearly enough to do this issue justice. I will, however, give a brief peek of the horrors inside, just to help out readers who have never been here or had reason to research this matter. Like every country, Japan has good cops and bad cops. Regardless of what camp they fall in, many (dare I say, most?) cops here have not dealt extensively with foreigners, and are under the impression that we are responsible for a disproportionate amount of the crime that happens on their sweet little island utopia. We tend to get treated as such. Further, if a foreigner in Japan is accused of a crime and actually arrested, best to assume guilty until proven innocent, because that's how the system will treat them. The vast majority of us get by here just fine by obeying the laws and not getting involved with seedy-looking situations. Seriously, this does work almost flawlessly, and foreigners are generally not at risk of being abused by cops. I've lived here for 2.5 years of my life and this has been one of two times I talked to cop, except to ask directions.
So, she showed me her badge, holding it low and shielding it from public view so that I might see it without passerby thinking this was a bad situation (I guess). She then asked me if I would be kind enough to show her my gaijin card - well, technically it's called a gaikokujin touroku shoumeisho, but few people have the patience to say that entire mouthful every time - legal identification for foreigners here that gives all the standard birthdate/address/photo info on it, plus the type and expiration date of our visa.
This is generally normal for a cop here, if a little annoying. Japanese cops have the right to ask for ID at any time, for any or no reason. If you don't have it, you will be arrested and fined. Deal with it, and play along. There's no reason to be stubborn or fight this one; it'll only get you in trouble. (Also true because the average cop here can kick your ass. They don't carry guns but they all train like crazy and have advanced rankings in kendo and aikido. Fuck with them at your own peril.)
I gave her my card, and she began to write down my details on a notepad she produced from one pocket. All the while through, she asked me polite, clarifying questions like how to pronounce my name, what I was doing here on a cultural studies visa, etc. I explained it all to her, and she took a few more notes. She asked me then if I had heard of any crimes involving foreigners here. Well, technically yes, ma'am, but I think I would prefer to keep my goddamn mouth shut at this point, seeing as they're all minor and of no realistic threat to Japanese society. All I actually said was, "No, I can't think of any." The way she had phrased the question was of particular interest, though. She did not say:
1. Do you know of foreigners committing any crimes here?
2. Do you know of any foreign victims of crime here? or
3. Have you been a victim of crime here?
All she asked was if I knew of foreigner "involvement" in such, which can be interpreted in a ton of ways. I had to roll that one around in my brain for a bit, just because of all the different meanings it could have. No situation came to mind that I thought a cop could actually help with, so as I said, I gave her a negative answer. It bothered me and made my spine tingle a bit, though.
Anyway, the conversation ended with her asking me if there was anything the Tokyo Metropolitan Police could do to make my stay here better. I told her, "No, thank you, I'm having a good time here. Japan is a very safe country." A little ass-kissing couldn't hurt, I figured. Let me stress that she was very polite throughout this whole business, and actually spoke quite deferentially to me. I've heard of cops being straight up dicks to foreigners here; this was definitely not such a case. I got my ID card back from her and she went on her way, leaving me scratching my chin stubble over what just happened.
Question 1: Why did she approach me in the first place?
There's no one certain answer, but I can guess. Cops (and as an extension, many public figures) believe that visa overstayers are responsible for much of the crime here. Consequently, if you get caught overstaying your visa here, you will get screwed really hard. Don't do it. I read about a couple who were studying abroad at a university here, and overstayed 1 day due to making a mistake in booking their flight home. They tried to go home, figuring that if they were leaving the country anyway, who would care? Woe unto them - they got arrested at the airport, held in police custody for several days, and finally deported. Oh, and by the way: THEY WERE BANNED FROM RETURNING TO JAPAN FOR FIVE YEARS. For making an error in booking a flight. Moral of the story? Never overstay your visa here for any reason. Ever. So anywho, cops sometimes nab foreigners like me, just to see if we have valid visas. This has come to be referred to by many as getting pulled over for a W3, or just getting W3-ed. What is this, you ask? Why, it's none other than the heinous crime of Walking While White. My readers in Minnesota may recall the DWB (Driving While Black) that the Minneapolis Police Department has a real boner for - this is the same basic idea, just aimed at a different minority.
Question 2: That's kinda racist, don't you think?
Well, yes. I wouldn't be writing this entry if I didn't take issue with what happened. However, is it really a bad thing? White males of European descent (and many others) have subjected numerous racial groups to horrible, absolutely deplorable treatment for centuries, maybe millennia. I wonder if, just so that we keep our shit in perspective, don’t we all deserve to be the hated/feared/untrusted minority at least once? How else can we appreciate the hardships others have suffered for not blending in with the crowd? Prejudice is never a good thing, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be an educational thing.
Japan’s got a tough hurdle to overcome, too. For ~250 years, their military dictatorship closed the country to all foreign influence, save for a few ports kept open for very limited foreign trade, and this only ended in the mid/late 1800s. I can think of few better ways to breed xenophobia than that. And as the wise master tells us, “Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and hate leads to suffering..."
Question 3: Involvement?
This one gets my goat. On some level I can accept that Tokyo police might use this word because asking foreigners if they know of fellow out-of-towners breaking the law might seem a little combative. Doesn't make it any less passive-aggressive. The solution isn't to directly quiz us about the nefarious ways of our white/black/hispanic/other brethren, though - it's to extract head from ass and realize that the overwhelming majority of foreigners who make it all the fucking way to Japan are educated and generally successful (excepting a few asshats in the military who make the whole organization look bad). Educated, successful people are not breeding grounds for crime, because we're happy with the direction we're going. This is some pretty basic shit. Require a little education in statistics and social science for cops, and they'll see this. Sure, some people come here and then misbehave. Show me some verifiable evidence that these people represent the majority of criminals in Japan and I will display my gaijin card with glowing lights on it to every damn cop I pass.
In the end, there is no simple solution to this. The responsibility lies on the shoulders of no one involved party more than others. Japanese cops need education, and exposure to foreign ways of life – if for no other reason than so they see that we aren’t a collective den of criminals. And if we start early...
This is why I strongly support programs like JET. JETs aren’t necessarily English teachers – after all, not every Japanese child wants to learn English. (And who’s going to blame them, really? I didn’t exactly have the hots for Spanish when I was 13.) But what teaching abroad programs do do is expose students to ways of life other than their own, so that the next time they see a foreigner, they don’t scream, duck and cover, or stare in befuddled awe. It may not seem like much, but for a country cut off from almost everything for so long, continued survival in an undeniably international world requires it.
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