POLICE HARASSMENT?
In all the time I’ve lived in Japan my dealings with the police have been fairly positive: when a woman stole a large sum of money from me they did a good job in sorting it all out with their ‘slow but steady’ way of dealing with things. Likewise, when a young drunken me had a serious bicycle accident that required a CT scan and stitches, the hospital called the police, thinking that I’d been hit by a car: when I explained that I’d “crashed with myself” the cops thought it was hysterically funny and went on their way.
The only negative encounter I had was several years ago at Kansai Airport. I was killing time before going to check in by wandering around the hall. Suddenly a plain-clothes cop stopped me and questioned me, asking to see my ID, what I was doing, etc. It was annoying. Of course I produced my documents, but I got irritated and asked him for his name, ID and the station he worked out of. He didn’t like that at all. He didn’t like it even more when I asked him if he was also stopping and randomly checking people who looked Japanese. I reined it in a bit after that, since it suddenly dawned on me that he could easily stop me from getting on my flight on any kind of pretext if he wanted to.
Other foreign residents I know have had similar encounters. Given the ingrained racism in Japanese society, it would be hardly surprising if the police force weren’t also touched with it to some extent.
Today I set out on my regular 4.5km walk around my neighbourhood. Part of my course takes me along a road that circles a large water treatment plant. A motorbike passed me, stopped and turned around, with the rider saying something to me. It was a police officer. He wanted to know where I was going. I said I was going on my usual walk. He asked for my name, so I showed him a scan of my ID card. He took down the details in his notebook. He told me that I couldn’t walk up a particular road nearby because there was nothing there, just an industrial site. I said that I wasn’t planning to go up there. He got his map out and we talked about my route, and finally he understood my way did not involve that particular place. And off I went. The whole exchange was pleasant, polite and friendly, but a little odd. I maintained a calm demeanour throughout and successfully resisted the temptation to make some quip about not being a Russian terrorist seeking to blow up the water plant. I also didn’t ask for his credentials, although I’m sure that was within my rights.
It irked me, though. I don’t like being treated with suspicion by the cops in my own neighbourhood. Get enough of that from the old locals with their gormless stares. Was I right to be pissed off? Maybe the site he didn’t want me to go to had expereinced a burglary. But then again, I have been up that road once before, and it is indeed a dead end with some kind of construction site there. However, it’s not a private road. Unless I’m actually on the site itself, surely the police cannot prohibit me from going there?
Maybe I shouldn’t complain so much: I’m sure other minorities in Japan get it far worse.
As I finish writing this, I’ve just remembered another encounter with the police that happened last winter. I was doing a night walk along a main road, when I noticed a car moving slowly along the road behind me. I turned around, totally dazzled by the headlights. My eyes have big problems with bright lights, so I was pissed off. As the car passed, I gave it the finger to register my displeasure at having my sensitive retinas frazzled. Of course, it was at that very moment that I noticed it was a cop car. I walked off in the other direction as quickly as possibly, then ducked into a sidestreet and ran! They didn’t give chase, however.
Maybe it was same officer I met today? Lol.