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Getting arrested in Japan

sundaicity.com

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Re: Getting arrested in Japan

#121

Seems like it's not pleasant, and the author says in theory it could be as low of a bar as getting into a heated argument; but the author never discloses his actual charge, which I think is critical context. If he stabbed someone and got this treatment, it would be very different than if he had a loud but normal argument you might see in any big box store in the US. That he doesn't go on to protest why he got locked…

The author mentions it in a YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2epTf2IW1g (at the 2:20 mark). But essentially, somebody else sent her a package with something illegal in it that she didn't ask for. The police took her passport for a few months and searched her house. After a few months, she got her passport returned to her, she left Japan temporarily, but when she came back, they arrested her "to ensure…

> somebody else sent her a package with something illegal in it that she didn't ask for.

> She also mentioned it was "the most normal type of thing you can think of";

This doesn't really answer the question, though. It's frustrating to try to interpret these stories with a lot of writing and video describing everything except the crucial detail about what the charges were for.

I don't think she's trying to withhold information to avoid contaminating the case because she's spilling other details all over the place that could be used to influence the case. Yet the key piece of information that is supposedly "the most normal" isn't revealed

Re: Getting arrested in Japan

#122
post #76

Pro Tip: When visiting Japan, dress and comport yourself so you don't look like you should be thrown in jail, and it will happen a lot less often. As a Mexican friend puts it for Mexico: Dress as the police should believe you.

That's the advice I give to anyone traveling internationally. You get treated a lot differently when you wear khaki slacks and an Oxford shirt (more professional rather than stylish) - even if you're wearing sneakers.

The more bland the colors, the more you blend in and easier it is to flow through places.

Re: Getting arrested in Japan

#123
post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

You* are responsible for following the rules regardless of what others are doing. A bad article (if that's what it is—I haven't looked yet) doesn't make it ok to break them, and a bad thread doesn't either. (* I don't mean you personally of course, but all of us)

I understand that, but I would like to note from a human perspective that when seeing an article full of misleading and exaggerated claims bashing your country as a whole and comparing it disfavorably to the author's own, it's hard to react in a perfectly emotionless manner. All the more so when the thread is full of comments piling on even more, taking it all as fact and condemning it as a 'fascist dictatorship'. This is not exactly material fit for intellectual-curiosity-stimulating discussion to begin with, and it would really be nice if this kind of awful content wasn't on HN in the first place.

Re: Getting arrested in Japan

#124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The virtues you mention are not a consequence of the tortuous treatment described in the post though. Conditions could rise to Western humane standards and the underlying Japanese culture that allows for such peaceful living would still remain.

I don’t know what is humane about skid row et al.

Direct torture is certainly less humane than abandonment.

Re: Getting arrested in Japan

#125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The author mentions it in a YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2epTf2IW1g (at the 2:20 mark). But essentially, somebody else sent her a package with something illegal in it that she didn't ask for. The police took her passport for a few months and searched her house. After a few months, she got her passport returned to her, she left Japan temporarily, but when she came back, they arrested her "to ensure…

> somebody else sent her a package with something illegal in it that she didn't ask for. > She also mentioned it was "the most normal type of thing you can think of"; This doesn't really answer the question, though. It's frustrating to try to interpret these stories with a lot of writing and video describing everything except the crucial detail about what the charges were for. I don't think she's trying to withhold i…

> It's frustrating to try to interpret these stories with a lot of writing and video describing everything except the crucial detail about what the charges were for.

Is it really a crucial detail though? As someone having lived in Japan for a long time, I see no reason why we can not discuss the fact that civil rights and detention treatment in Japan are lacking without resorting to "Do they deserve it in light of what they were suspected for?". I personally see no reason why suspects can not deserve decent sleep, meal, bedding, etc. even if they may be Shoko Asahara himself.

For the record, I have not watched any video or read anything else about this individual. Nor do I intend to.

Re: Getting arrested in Japan

#126
post #116

Absolutely horrifying. I've come to believe that criminal punishment is simply unethical. I wish someone would come up with a better option.

And what do you have to say to teenage girls or even little kid girls getting raped?

Being laxist towards criminals is not just being cruel to the victims to me: to me it is downright complicity with the criminals.

BTW: Japan happens to be one of the safest country on earth. A friend who's a pilot told me: "Tokyo is the only city in the world where I've women from my team (mostly air hostesses but also female pilot or co-pilot) go for a run at 3am". Now he didn't fly to every city in the world but I can name a great many cities where a fit woman won't go joking in yoga pants at 3am. And so can he.

Re: Getting arrested in Japan

#127
post #81

Seems like it's not pleasant, and the author says in theory it could be as low of a bar as getting into a heated argument; but the author never discloses his actual charge, which I think is critical context. If he stabbed someone and got this treatment, it would be very different than if he had a loud but normal argument you might see in any big box store in the US. That he doesn't go on to protest why he got locked…

> If he stabbed someone and got this treatment, it would be very different I dont think so. I think innocent until proven guilty is the right way to go. Because all the police know is that he is accused of stabbing someone. Whether he actually did it or not, a court of law will decide that while he is present to be tried. Until then You cant punish someone like this over an accusation. You can deny bail if the person…

Innocent until proven guilty doesn't mean someone gets to go free until their court date. It depends on the crime, the flight risk, and the supporting evidence that police are able to collect.

There are many examples of police letting suspects go due to lack of evidence and then later discovering they let the wrong person go. These stories generate a lot of outrage in cases where there's public interest or a news story, but this is the reality of crime: You don't always have enough evidence to justify detaining someone, but the police's job is to quickly try to find enough evidence to find the right perpetrator

Re: Getting arrested in Japan

#128

Seems like it's not pleasant, and the author says in theory it could be as low of a bar as getting into a heated argument; but the author never discloses his actual charge, which I think is critical context. If he stabbed someone and got this treatment, it would be very different than if he had a loud but normal argument you might see in any big box store in the US. That he doesn't go on to protest why he got locked…

> loud but normal argument you might see in any big box store in the US. I always assumed this kind of behaviour was cherry picked on social media. How “normal” is it actually?!

It's quite rare.

Except at Waffle House.

Re: Getting arrested in Japan

#129
post #97
post #76

Pro Tip: When visiting Japan, dress and comport yourself so you don't look like you should be thrown in jail, and it will happen a lot less often. As a Mexican friend puts it for Mexico: Dress as the police should believe you.

I wonder if that's possible in Japan for a black person

I'd assume so, though I'm not aware of any statistics that'd catalogue police action there by skin color / ethnicity, not official, not third party.

I'd think a formal or business casual attire, with proper grooming, is a rather international signal that you're vaguely alright in your ways.

Anything specific you reckon otherwise for?

Re: Getting arrested in Japan

#130
post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> somebody else sent her a package with something illegal in it that she didn't ask for. > She also mentioned it was "the most normal type of thing you can think of"; This doesn't really answer the question, though. It's frustrating to try to interpret these stories with a lot of writing and video describing everything except the crucial detail about what the charges were for. I don't think she's trying to withhold i…

> It's frustrating to try to interpret these stories with a lot of writing and video describing everything except the crucial detail about what the charges were for. Is it really a crucial detail though? As someone having lived in Japan for a long time, I see no reason why we can not discuss the fact that civil rights and detention treatment in Japan are lacking without resorting to "Do they deserve it in light of wh…

> Is it really a crucial detail though?

Literally the central trigger point of the story.

> For the record, I have not watched any video or read anything else about this individual. Nor do I intend to.

Then I can see why you're not interested in the details

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