www.debito.org
Watching the detectives
Japan's human rights bureau falls woefully short of meeting its own
job specifications
By ARUDOU DEBITO
The Japan Times July 8, 2003
THE ZEIT GIST Column, Community Page,
Courtesy http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20030708zg.html
There's something to be said about Japanese police attitudes towards foreigners.
Police shakedowns of foreigners
riding bicycles have become routine in some parts of Tokyo. Kabukichou, due
to its high foreign concentration, enjoys Japan's only 24-hour neighborhood-wide
cop surveillance camera system.
Most noteworthy are the public service announcements from police departments nationwide
warning against "bad foreigner" crime.
(http://www.debito.org/TheCommunity/communityissues.html#police)
Technically, this targeting of the foreign community should not be happening. As
the Japanese government reported to the United Nations in October, 2001:
"Japan has been educating public officials, law enforcement officers and administrators
about human rights including elimination of racial discrimination, and will continue
to make efforts in the future."
(http://www.debito.org/japanvsun.html#9)
Sounds good on paper. But in practice there are bugs. As a naturalized Caucasian
Japanese citizen, I am not exempt from the odd bit of racial profiling.
For example, last December I was on my way to Tokyo through Hokkaido's largest airport,
Chitose. Far afield from any security zone, up came a cop.
"Hey you. Show me your passport."
When I asked the reason why in Hokkaido dialect, the startled officer demurred, claiming
he asks everybody. Dubious, since Japanese don't normally carry "passports."
Any other reason? Nope. So I said, "You only stopped me because you thought
I was a foreigner. Surprise. I'm not. In fact, what you just did was illegal under
the Police Execution of Duties Act, Article 2, a copy of which I just happen to have
in my wallet.
"You are forbidden from asking Japanese citizens personal questions without
sufficient suspicion of a crime. I don't think exiting a post office while white
will do."
He wasn't in the mood for apologies, so I took it up with his superior, and his superior,
and ultimately Hokkaido Police Headquarters. Everyone refused to say sorry, offer
any other justification for stopping me (except "December is a high-security
month, and we understandably thought you were a foreigner,") or explain how
harassment of Japan's international residents would be avoided in future.
All I got in writing (nearly three months later) from the Hokkaido Public Safety
Commission was: "We have a job to do, so kindly cooperate." (full background
on this story at http://www.debito.org/policeapology.html)
What to do in situations like these? Taking a page from the Japanese report above,
apparently:
"Human rights counseling rooms are set up to accept inquiries from those who
have suffered discrimination. Human Rights Organs of the Ministry of Justice promptly
investigate the incidents... and based on the results, take proper measures for the
case."
Sounded good. So I visited the counseling room at the Sapporo Bureau of Human Rights
("Jinken Yougobu," or BOHR).
Jan. 8, 2003: I appraise BOHR bureaucrats of the altercation with the Hokkaido
Police. After taking copious notes, they promise to investigate the illegality of
the situation, carry out something called "enlightenment" of the police
if necessary, and report back to me.
March 27: After two months of silence, I contact the same BOHR official for
an update. He denies ever promising an "investigation," let alone a report.
He admits he met a Hokkaido Police representative, who basically listened and left.
I ask for material evidence of that meeting. No can do-- the BOHR is legally bound
to keep their "enlightenment" activities private.
I doubt that, having received reports from other regional BOHRs in the past, and
ask to see that law in writing. He says I must go through the Freedom of Information
Act (FOIA) to get it.
April 15: I go to the BOHR and through the FOIA formally request copies of
the pertinent laws and evidence of "enlightenment."
Late April: The BOHR phones to say I need not have gone through the FOIA
for copies of said law.
May 13: Nearly one month later, my requests for information "promptly"
arrive: Copies of the law, yes, but the request for material "enlightenment"
denied. Reason: The FOIA forbids invasions of privacy of "specific individuals"
("tokutei no kojin"), meaning me. The BOHR was therefore protecting me
from myself.
May 22: I march back to the BOHR and, citing the very laws they provided
me, demand the release of three documents that by law must be created for any human
rights consultation.
June 23: The BOHR answers again: Requests denied, again, to protect me from
my invading my own privacy. I can appeal this decision to the Minister of Justice
within sixty days, if I so desire.
Hence the BOHR, funded by our taxes, was not doing its job. In fact, it used every
means possible to sidestep accountability and to avoid assisting someone entitled
to have their rights investigated.
No jaws are dropping at the United Nations. In a November 1998 report on Japan, the
Committee on Civil and Political Rights stated:
"The Committee is concerned about the lack of institutional mechanisms available
for investigating violations of human rights and for providing redress.
"Effective institutional mechanisms are required to ensure that the authorities
do not abuse their power and that they respect the rights of individuals in practice.
The Committee is of the view that the Civil Liberties Commission [i.e. the BOHR]
is not such a mechanism, since it is supervised by the Ministry of Justice and its
powers are strictly limited to issuing recommendations.
"The Committee is concerned that there is no independent authority to which
complaints of ill-treatment by police or immigration can be addressed."
(http://www.debito.org/CCPR1998.html)
Every good government needs a system of checks and balances. Here is an area of
Japanese law where it is sorely lacking -- in redressing police abuses of authority.
What can be done when police bend the laws they are supposed to enforce? Basically
nothing.
You are at the mercy of the attitudes of our boys in blue.
The Japan Times: July 8, 2003
(C) All rights reserved
ENDS