SHIZUOKA PREFECTURAL POLICE'S GUIDEBOOK
ON "CHARACTERISTICS OF CRIME BY FOREIGNERS COMING TO JAPAN"

(Rainichi Gaikokujin Hanzai no Tokuchou)

Sponsored by the "Shizoka-Ken Head Police Station, the Shizuoka-ken Association for the Prevention of Crime"
(shizuoka ken keisatsu honbu, shadanhoujin shizuoka ken bouhan kyoukai rengoukai)

Published February 2000

Reproduced here in its entirety.
Commentary forthcoming in September 2000 for those who cannot read the Japanese.
(25 pages. This may take some time to download)


Above is the cover (right) with the contact details from the publisher (inside back cover, left). A press agency contacted the above phone number in early July, 2000, and tried to make an appointment with the Shizuoka Police to inquire about the uses and recipients of this book. On July 7, 2000, the police gave official word to this agency that there was no comment and that an interview about this book (despite questions being prepared in advance, as per the police's request) was not possible. However, as of July 13, the Shizuoka Police consented to a one-time only FAX interview on the questions posed in advance, with no followup permitted. More details when the story hits the press.

We at The Community are quite aware that crimes are committed by non-Japanese, as crimes are committed by Japanese. We do understand that something should be done about crimes regardless of the background of the perpetrator. We are not insisting that the police "be soft on crime" or ignore tendencies of perpetrators if they may be of some assistance in detection and prevention.

We also acknowledge that the incidents contained within this manual are probably crimes as reported, having received confirmation from a press agency that many mentioned have been genuinely reported. Thus, we at The Community do wish to see ends and means of prevention taken against crimes committed by anybody, regardless of nationality.

However, this book is zeroing in on people by nationality (or lack thereof). Consequently the advice herein will naturally lend readers (according to the police, this is an internal document, intended only for kouban police boxes, but 1) this copy was received from a private individual, and 2) much of the advice is directed towards shopkeepers) to distinguish between people explicitly by nationality based upon appearance, inevitably raising suspicions and distrust towards people simply because they are not Japanese-looking.

Particularly dangerous are certain constructs for prevention (see particularly pages 20-21 below), such as regarding with suspicion any foreigners in groups of more than one, taking down their car licence plate numbers, and reporting them to the police. We foresee too many possible arrests/detentions due to circumstantial evidence (such as being a foreigner in a car near the scene of a crime) if this advice were to be taken seriously. Moreover, under this rubric, how can non-Japanese shop with their friends without becoming suspects?

Our goal with this website is not to interfere with police doing their job of preventing and investigating crime. It is to raise questions and issues like any detective would when considering the guilt or innocence of the accused. In this case, the accused is essentially the entire Foreign Community in Japan.

We hope that the police have also released manuals detailing crime characteristics for Japanese as well, and that they may be made available to us for a basis of comparison.