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Hi Blog. Last blog entry I talked about Amnesty International’s 2002 report on horrendous treatment and conditions of NJ detainees in Narita Airport. As a complement, here is Chris Johnson, photojournalist at venues such as CNNGo and The Japan Times, offering his unexpurgated experiences there last December. Despite having a valid visa, he was denied entry, he believes, due to his critical press coverage of TEPCO and government responses to the Fukushima disasters. He spent 30 hours in the Narita Airport “Gaijin Tank” (which he calls a gulag) before being forced to buy an overpriced one-way ticket and deported, and it changed his views dramatically on Japan’s legal and policing system.
Excerpt follows. Full report at http://globalite.posterous.com/inside-the-gaijin-tank-dungeon-at-narita-airp-91122
This issue deserves more attention. Extralegality may be the norm in Customs and Immigration Zones around the world, but extreme treatment is exactly what happens when policing is unfettered and unmonitored. It is, to put it mildly, unbefitting a society such as Japan’s, with official pretensions towards respecting the rule of law. Especially when you read about Chris’s experience with the private security goons, who seem to have gone beyond any plausible mitigation (“just following orders”) by Milgram. Were these the people who killed Abubakar Awadu Suraj in 2010 while deporting him, and to this day have not been charged with any crime? Arudou Debito
NB: What follows is an updated version of Chris’s report as of January 18, 2011, amending allegations about a private security company called G4S. Read on for disclaimers:
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Inside the Gaijin Tank dungeon at Narita Airport in Japan
By Christopher Johnson, freelance photojournalist at CNNGo, The Japan Times, etc.
Globalite Magazine
News, photos and fiction from around the world
Version updated January 18, 2012
Full article at http://globalite.posterous.com/inside-the-gaijin-tank-dungeon-at-narita-airp-91122
Detained for 30 hours and expelled from Japan, a veteran Tokyo-based journalist gets a harrowing glimpse into the trap door at Narita Airport leading into a secretive gulag of rights abuses against thousands of foreign visitors and expats, often by guards hired by airlines
(((This is a revised, tightened version of an earlier post. It includes a correction based on a comment from a spokesman for g4s, one of the world’s largest companies, which supplies security guards to more than 60 airports. A spokesman says g4s staff are NOT working at Narita. It is not clear who employs the guards accused of mistreating foreigners at Narita.
It includes information about other Westerners wrongfully jailed and expelled from Japan. Also includes comments via Japan Times from former immigration chief, one of the most important critics of detention policy. As previously noted, it is a raw work in progress, unedited, unpolished. Please send comments, anecdotes and info for inclusion in this story.)))
—-When you line up to get your passport stamped at Narita international airport outside Tokyo, look to your right toward a set of “special examination rooms.” That is where the trap door into Japan’s secretive gulag begins.
Most travellers, who regard Japan as a safe country of civilized people, have no idea that thousands of foreign arrivals — just like them — have fallen down that trap door into windowless dungeons in the bowels of the airport. From there, foreigners of all nationalities — seeking a pleasant vacation or a better life in Japan — have vanished into a horrific network of “detention centres” imprisoning thousands of innocent foreigners in appalling conditions.
Most red-eyed foreign arrivals also don’t realize that the immigration officers taking their fingerprints and scanning their passports are working with xenophobic colleagues who have deported on average about 20,000 foreigners every year since 2005, and who have been on trial for themurder of a longtime foreign resident of Japan last year at Narita.
They also don’t realize that airlines, according to the Immigration Bureau, are technically responsible for providing nightmarish dungeons and hiring “security guards” accused of human rights abuses — everything from extortion to theft, torture and denial of rights to call embassies, lawyers or family.
Instead of taking a public stand against the flagrant abuse of their valued customers over the last 15 years, airlines at Narita — knowingly or not — have been reaping windfalls from thousands of expelled passengers forced to purchase one-way tickets at exorbitant prices. Airline officials have not yet replied to requests over the past week for comments on the matter.
Whether you are a fresh-minded explorer or a jaded expat fluent in the language and culture, the numbers are shocking, and an embarrassing revelation into the darkest side of Japan, a country that prides itself on safety and rule of law.
Amnesty International’s annual report for 2011 says Japan accepted 30 refugees out of about 1000 applicants this past year. It’s not clear what happened to the other 970 or so applicants. Many of them could still be incarcerated.
According to the Immigration Bureau, Japan deports on average 20,000 foreigners every year, including 33,000 in 2005, and another 18,578 in 2010. In other words, Japan kicked out about one-fifth the number of people — 91,778 — who were, as of January 2010, “overstaying their visas”. In reality, “overstaying” means they were dedicating their lives to working for Japanese bosses or employing Japanese in their own businesses, in a country that desperately needs entrepreneurs and job creators. These people, who would normally become immigrants or refugees in other countries, often become prisoners and suicide cases in Japan. All of these people were customers of airlines at Narita.
That 2010 number — 18,578 individuals with names and families, often in Japan — is enough to fill about 100 jets flying out of Japan during the mass foreign exodus from aftershocks and radiation fears in March.
That number — 18,578 — is similar to the official death toll from the March 11 tsunami, which triggered a wave of international sympathy for the plight of Japan.
Yet other than Amnesty, the UNHCR and some courageous NGOs, few foreign organizations or celebrities have done anything about a system of abuses that ultimately damages Japan’s relations with its key trading partners, causes more than 100,000 people to bear grudges against Japan, andstains the image and balance sheets of airlines who have lost thousands of expelled foreigners as customers.
Many immigration officers are aware of these issues, and some are trying to reform from within. One of the bureau’s main critics is their former chief, Hidenori Sakanaka. “One year of confinement is mentally tough,” Hidenori Sakanaka, who headed the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau from April 2002 to March 2005, told the Japan Times in July, 2010. The JT noted reports of suicides by a Brazilian and South Korean earlier that year, and hunger strikes at detention centers. “The Immigration Bureau must stop suicides and hunger strikes.”
He said detention centers and the Immigration Bureau must go public about the suicides and treatment of detainees, and also explain how a Ghanaian man, who had been working in Japan for 22 years, died in the custody of immigration officers at Narita airport in March 2010. “The incidents give the Immigration Bureau a chance to improve itself.”
Sakanaka has also authored a book asking readers whether they want “a Bigger Japan” teeming with immigrants, or a “Smaller Japan” with few foreign faces.
Japan’s Immigration Bureau declares on its website (http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/) that it’s motto is “internationalization in compliance with the rules.” It says the bureau makes “contributions to sound development of Japanese society” by “making efforts for smoother cross-border human mobility” and “deporting undesirable aliens”.
The problem, activists say, is their view of who is “undesirable.” In fact, few of the 18,578 deportees in 2010 were hardcore criminals threatening Japanese society. The Japanese media stereotype of them as being poor, dirty, uneducated miscreants is completely wrong. Many deportees have Japanese wives, children, friends and pets. Many are fluent in Japanese, with college degrees and successful careers.
“Jim” is a white male college professor from the United States, who began teaching in Japan about 30 years ago. I first met him in the airport’s “special examination room”. He was wearing a suit and tie like other middle-aged businessmen. He had just walked off a United Airlines flight from America. He wanted to spend Christmas with his 20-year old son, now living with his ex-wife in the Tokyo area. “I got a really cheap ticket, and decided to go for it to see my son,” he says. “The airline let me on, so there shouldn’t have been a problem.”
Jim would spend Christmas in the dank, windowless dungeon, where for 72 hours he was a victim of extortion, theft, strip-searching, abuse, denial of rights and expulsion from Japan at a rip-off price. (I would later discover that he had given speeches supporting anti-nuke protesters in Japan.)
((But even Jim was fortunate compared with Danny Bloom, an American journalist who, after working for five years at the Daily Yomiuri, says he was arrested on charges of overstaying his visa, held in solitary confinement for 41 days in 1995, and deported from Japan. He says he had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which affects an estimated 30 million Americans, due to a plane crash in Alaska, and couldn’t fly to Seoul to obtain a work permit. Now exiled in Taiwan, he says he can never return to “the police state” of Japan, even though he still loves Japanese people.))
((Other educated white males from the US, Canada, the UK and Australia, who have contacted me since this story first appeared, say privately that they were also victims of wrongful deportation and similar abuses.))
x–x—x—x—x—x—x–x–x—x–x–x—x–x–x
WHO IS WATCHING THE GUARDS?
Jim’s ordeal, and my own experience during a 30-hour detention at Narita and expulsion on Christmas Eve from Japan, confirms Amnesty’s reports dating back to the year 2000, when they first discovered a secret gulag housing thousands of foreigners.
As other victims have told Amnesty, it’s a scam, and a money-maker for the airlines and security guards. At Narita, they have arbitrary powers, and they use them. They can decide “Entry Denied”, and then find a rule or excuse to justify it. They don’t have to explain their reasons, and the appeal process is a sham.
Since there aren’t many reports of these abuses at Haneda and other airports in Japan, victims suspect there is a criminal syndicate operating at Narita since at least 1996. One guy marks a paper “Entry Denied.” He hands you off to a guy who shakes you down for 30,000 yen, who then hands you off to another guy who takes away your rights in the dungeon, who then hands you off to another guy who forces you to buy a rip-off plane ticket. If Amnesty is correct in estimating 7 cases per day on average, this syndicate could earn 200,000 yen per day in extortion fees, and 300,000 to perhaps a million yen per day on marked up airline tickets. Where does the money go? Who can stop them from doing this?
My own experience is consistent with several previous cases cited by Amnesty, and at least five other victims who have emailed me their stories. In my case, Asiana Airlines staff at the check-in counter in Seoul saw that I had a proper visa for Japan, and let me board a flight to Tokyo. The immigration officer at Narita, however, didn’t even look through my Canadian passport, where he would have found proper stamps, working visas, and multiple re-entry permits dating back years. While taking my fingerprints, he saw my name pop up on a list on his computer. (I have strong reason to believe that I have been blacklisted due to my critical coverage of TEPCO, Japan Tobacco, Olympus, JAL, the yakuza, fascists, and state neglect of tsunami survivors and nuclear refugees.) He marked a paper and gave my passport to another officer.
After leading me to the “special examinations room”, hostile immigration officials at Narita falsified my statements, disregarded my proof, confiscated my passport and belongings, and arbitrarily denied me permission to enter Japan, where I have built up a career as a journalist covering Asia since 1987. They gave no sensible explanation for their decision. An officer simply wrote “no proof, entry denied” on a document, and asked me to sign it. I refused.
I was shocked that they could do that. But I shouldn’t have been. Thousands of foreigners arriving at Narita have been victimized by brutal thugs and racists — some of whom are not ethnically Japanese. According to Amnesty, airlines at Narita hire “security guards” to “escort” their passengers to the “detention facilities” — which are de facto maximum security jails. These guards also deny basic human rights, such as phone calls to lawyers, embassies or UNHCR. These guards harass, beat, or torture airline customers into paying “service fees”. In Jim’s case, they abused him until he finally coughed up 30,000 yen, about 400 US. They demanded the same from me, and also took money from my wallet. Gear was also stolen from my baggage.
Then, after passengers have been deported or denied landing rights, they are forced to acquire an overpriced one-way ticket. Since nobody can stop them from stealing or confiscating your possessions, the guards can use your credit cards or cash to buy tickets against your will. Since nobody is overseeing their extra-legal actions, it’s possible that the guards are taking kickbacks from airline staff selling the outrageously priced tickets.
In my case, employees at the airport said that I would have to pay as much as 400,000 yen ($5000) for a one-way ticket from Tokyo to Vancouver and Calgary. With a one-way ticket “purchased” against my will, they forced me onto a flight to Canada without much winter clothing for minus 40 temperatures in Alberta. They even called my longtime Japanese partner in Tokyo and threatened her, saying that if she didn’t pay for the ticket, her partner would face lengthy jail time.
After nearly 25 years of life in Asia, I arrived in Canada with 3-days clothing, far away from my house in Tokyo.
(((Who are these guards? Who is employing them? In my delirium during detention, I originally thought I saw “gas” written on their uniforms and van. After a rough draft of this story first appeared, several people wrote to say the guards are working for g4s, a UK-based company founded more than 100 years ago. A spokesman for g4s says this is not true.
Adam Mynott, director of media relations at g4s, has kindly requested a correction of this. After being contacted by a reporter with The Economist, Mr. Mynott told me in an email that g4s “does not have any security business whatsoever at Narita Airport, nor are there any g4s affiliated Japanese companies working as security guards at the airport.”
I also have found no proof that g4s is operating at Narita.
This raises key questions: who are the guards escorting detainees at Narita? What company are they working for? Why is “gas” written on the side of their van? Since “gAs” and “g4s” look quite similar, is that company “pirating” the logo of g4s, a respected international company? Or is it simply a coincidence?
A security company working behind the scenes in Japan might have good reason for wanting to somehow draw upon the global success of g4s.
According to links sent by readers after this story first appeared, g4s is indeed one of the world’s largest companies, with more than 600,000 employees in 125 countries. They reportedly supply security guards to more than 60 airports including Heathrow, Oslo and Vancouver, US military bases in South Korea, Immigration Removal Centers in the UK and detention centres in Australia, a state prison in Birmingham, England, the 2012 London Olympics, US nuclear power plants, oil tankers facing pirate attacks off Somalia, and Japanese embassies around the world. (Note the photo of an armed woman guarding a nuclear reactor: http://careers.g4s.com/2010/11/g4s-nuclear-security-services-corporation-nssc/)
It’s not clear where g4s operates in Japan. In South Korea, the US military on December 15 (only a week before I returned from Seoul), accused g4s of violating a contract to guard their bases there, according to Stars and Stripes. Former guards have refused to work for the new company for longer hours and lower wages. These guards have protested outside U.S. Army bases, including Yongsan Garrison, Camp Red Cloud, Camp Casey, Camp Humphreys, Camp Henry and Camp Carroll. (http://www.stripes.com/news/gis-still-manning-gates-in-s-korea-as-contractor-struggles-to-fill-slots-1.163646)
A company press release said they won a $400 million contract to screen passengers and baggage at 20 airports in Canada, beginning November 1, 2011. When I passed through airports in Vancouver and Calgary on December 24, I found the security staff to be exceptionally friendly and professional.
The company’s official website (www.g4s.com.) says they help ensure “the safety and welfare” of millions of people worldwide. “We secure airports and embassies, protect cash and valuables for banks and retailers across the globe, safeguard some of the most exciting events in the global sporting and entertainment calendar, and are a trusted partner to governments worldwide,keeping personnel and some of the world’s most important buildings safe and secure. What we do touches people’s lives in nearly every area you can imagine.”
((http://www.g4s.com) (info@jp-g4s.com, +81-42-519-9303) US media contact: Fiona Walters, Chief Communications Officer,+1 561 691 6459)
(As of January 17, it remains unclear who hired the guards accused of extortion and abuses at Narita since at least 1996. It’s also unclear if the guards, speaking foreign languages during my detention, were Gurkhas from Nepal or nationals of other countries.)
The immigration bureau’s own documents confirm that airlines are responsible for hiring the security guards at Narita. “Concerning your expenses for being in Japan (meal, lodging, guard etc.) till your departure, the Immigration Bureau cannot take any responsibility,” said an officially stamped notice of the Ministry of Justice Tokyo Immigration Bureau, given to me a few hours before my expulsion. “This is a matter between you and your carrier (airline company).”
Many airlines gained respect for flying passengers for free or reduced prices out of danger zones after the 2004 tsunami and 2011 nuclear disaster. ANA and JAL, which use Narita as a hub for their global operations, are among the most respected airlines in the world, and they are highly-regarded for their service and safety. Yet credit card and airline employees have stated that they would not normally reimburse payments in such cases, since their passengers had technically“authorized” purchase by signing forms. As one victim of this scam has noted, it’s the moral equivalent of an armed bank robber getting off because the victimized bank teller, fearing for her life, “signed” the withdrawal slip.
ENDS
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UPDATE JANUARY 20, 2012 FROM DEBITO
In related news regarding violence/homicide by private security companies towards their detainees, Private Eye (UK) Issue 1291 24 June – July 7, 2011 reported the following:
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PRIVATE SECURITY
G4S locks up the captive market
Scan of the article at
http://www.claresambrook.com/campaign-page/Images-campaign-page/Private-Eye-(21-June-Issue-1291).jpg
.jpg){kind=link}
CONGRATULATIONS to G4S, the gigantic “Securing Your World” security company that has made sales of GBP 4.2 billion to the Ministry of Justice [UK] alone. Justice secretary Ken Clarke, in reply to a parliamentary question, listed ten contracts with G4S, including running prisons, escorting prisoners and tagging offenders.
This is in addition to its GBP 42 million in Foreign Office security deals (GBP million in Afghanistan alone) — although these are believed to represent the mere tip of an iceberg, because the FO said details of its numerous contracts around world “are not kept centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost”.
Then there is the company’s Welfare to Work bonanza, which, as chief executive David Taylor-Smith told financial analysts last month, “when clocked in next year will be GBP 130 million”, not to mention to the “very strong pipeline”that he boasted was heading G4S’s way from the Department of Health.
Evidently profiting from the public sector carve-up, G4S is the ideal lucrative refuge for former well-connected government ministers such as John Reid, former home secretary and minister of health, defence and transport. Reid, now a peer, went on the G4S payroll in 2008 when he was a backbench MP and is now a G4S non-executive director.
Amid all this good news, only a party pooper would point out that G4S may face corporate manslaughter charges over the death last year of deportee Jimmy Mubenga, after use of “restraint” at Heathrow; or that the company is awaiting sentence in Australia in the case of an Aboriginal elder who was cooked to death (dying of heatstroke and suffer third-degree burns) as he was transported across the outback in the back of a badly maintained G4S van with no air conditioning, little water, and no way of alerting drivers in the front to his dreadful plight. The company has pleaded guilty to charges of failing to ensure the man’s health and wellbeing.
But then, with a maximum penalty of a mere AU$ 400,000 (GBP 260,000), it won’t eat into the profits too much.
——-
Last week it emerged that G4S received 773 complaints last year from removal centre detainees — an increase of 240 on the previous year.
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ENDS
COMMENT: Sorry to bring in an unrelated American political “talking point”, but if “corporations are people”, it seems that unlike people, corporations really CAN get away with murder. And even if G4S was uninvolved in the Narita Airport events discussed on Debito.org, the rot and unaccountability of the thuggish private security firms managing the post 9-11 bonanza seems to be systemwide. This must be known about and done away with.
91 comments on “Chris Johnson on his 2011 experiences in the “Narita Airport Gaijin Gulag”, a complement to Amnesty’s 2002 expose (Amended)”
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That is very sickening and disturbing to read.
About a decade ago, I was detained in one of the examination rooms for a few hours.
They said that they stopped me because I had come back from a vacation to Seoul.
(The reason never made much sense to me.)
There was one other person in the room, an Asian woman. (I do not remember her nationality.)
I received a Japanese newspaper and read it while they dealt with her.
One of the security people (rather chatty) told me that she was being detained because of suspected marriage fraud to a Japanese husband.
I do not know what ever happened to her.
When it came to my turn, they asked me a number of questions, to which I answered honestly the best I could.
They had an interpreter, but she did not seem very good and I preferred to do the whole thing in Japanese anyway.
I gave them a copy of my business card and also the cell phone of my boss. I told them to call him, which they did. (He was in a meeting, so it was only by luck that he answered the unknown phone number.)
A few years earlier, I had previously graduated from a prestigious Japanese university.
They seemed impressed by that, and in the end, they gave that as the reason for letting me go.
I never really understood why I had been stopped, but I was not about to argue the issue further.
At the time, I had never really realized that if things had gone bad there, the next stop would be the “gaijin tank”.
No problems since then, but I suppose it is always possible to happen again.
It seems to be a mostly arbitrary decision that gets one into the examination room.
I was lucky the one and only time I have been in one. I had done nothing wrong, but something about my passport caused the immigration officer to escalate and have me taken to the room. They then accused me of working in violation of what was allowed by my visa status at the time, and I had to ‘convince’ them that I wasn’t. After about 1hr, they decided let me enter, but I have believed since then that the outcome was as arbitrary as my being selected.
Same here, I was sent to an examination room once for a short time. As much as I can remember (it was a few years ago), they just asked me a few basic questions (name, address), made a few phone calls in a back room and then let me go. It did not take longer than 15/20 minutes. Since then, I never had any problem.
Sickening and incomprehensible. It makes me incredibly depressed that no matter how hard one strives in their lives and no matter what contributions they make to society in this country, they can be treated like an abused animal. I admire your tenacity Debito, as reading this makes me wonder why I bothered coming here in the first place.
I have never had any illusions about Japan. I know that there are good points and bad points to living anywhere, and on balance, Japan’s good points usually managed to allow it to scrape through with a passing mark, in my book, but recently I’ve been getting the feeling that Japan is becoming something of a ‘banana republic’. The above story confirms that feeling. The balance sheet is not looking good….
The detainment probably took place but it would be better to provide a shorter, less confused, less ‘poetic’ account. It would also be worth addressing the real (or ostensible) reason for the detainment – i.e. what was the written reason given in the first interviews. It feels like something is missing here. If it really was about previous investigative journalism including criticism of TEPCO, share those links with us.
There’s clearly a serious issue here but this article raises more questions and distracts from the core concerns that need to be addressed.
— I already shared a link to one of Chris’s articles including criticism of TEPCO. Here it is again.
UPDATE JANUARY 13, 2012: Chris Johnson sends information about international private security firm G4S, which he believes might be the organization processing NJ detainees at Narita Airport.
It would make sense. What better way to process gaijin than by hiring gaijin, especially since they are multilingual, potentially more intimidating, and very experienced in this case with being a legal entity unto themselves?
There’s a lot to read, so I put it in the main body of the blog entry. Page back up to the top and skim down.
For various critiques of this article (in addition to mine above)see related forum at:
http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27818
@Debito
That information on G4S was very interesting (not least to say humorous; private security company guards US Army in Korea- can’t the US Army guard itself? After all, they have guns…), but what really gets me is that it’s the NJ being used to brutalize the NJ!
G4S is an multinational corporation answering only to it’s shareholders. Is this the point where the struggle for human rights for NJ in Japan merges into the fight against global capitalism? This is really upping the ante.
This should be going to the UN Human Rights Commission right away. The UN needs to update the status of Japan’s infamous records on human rights violations.
@Jim Di Griz
I hear you. Seems like Japan is turning into a secular, mono-cultural capitalism of the 21st century. I’m beginning to think about my status seriously.
G4S security company in Japan. Their CSR statement includes:
“Report CSR activities in an open and transparent manner”
http://www.g4s.jpn.com/en-jp/Social%20Responsibility/Governance/
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Governance
We are committed to respecting the interests of all our stakeholders, including shareholders, employees, customers, partners and the community
By integrating the following principles into our integrity value and our general business practices we hope to not only provide solid financial performance but also to make a positive contribution to the wider community and environment in which we operate.
Our approach to general business practices:
— As a minimum, conduct all business in compliance with relevant legislation
— Conduct all business in a fair and ethical manner
— Oppose bribery and corruption in whatever form it may take
— Report CSR activities in an open and transparent manner
Each of our business units, including the regional management team, has a transparent and sustainable CSR program sponsored by their executive management teams which is reviewed annually.
ENDS
I’m no fan of immigration at Narita, but one thing that nagged at me while reading Christopher’s account of the events was that if he could really “speak and read Japanese”, then why this: “The immigration officers called them “KBs” — a sort of private goon squad hired by airlines to do their dirty work.”? Is Christopher not aware that “keibi” is just Japanese for security? Maybe saying “The immigration officers called them ‘security'” didn’t sound scary enough?
I’m with Perukun on this one in being somewhat skeptical of Christopher’s version of events. He would have been much better off if he had stuck simply to the facts and provided less embellishment. There are real problems with Japan’s immigration system (or lack thereof) that should be dealt with, but I find this retelling of events unhelpful.
>For various critiques of this article….
Critique is too strong a word. Rambling by people with poor reading comprehension skills and/or paranoia issues is more like it. I could go on to critique the “critiques” in detail, but that would require some sort of effort. I will, however, just ask, what is it about “special note: this is an unedited, unpolished work in progress” that people don’t understand?
I don’t know if I’d call it a “Gulag”. I’m sure the real Gulag was much worse. However, for a country that prides itself on being first-world, with a history of trying to distinguish itself from other “inferior” countries, its treatment of human beings is despicable. All this talk about globalization and having world significance is a joke. A country that can’t even get human rights right.
Even worse is the cover-up that goes along with it. If they’re not doing anything wrong then why not let Amnesty look around all they want. Why not let the press in there. Why keep it all a big secret? I think the key here is constant pressure to expose the system. Just like with the Taiji dolphin hunt, we need to expose them to the world.
The most disturbing thing about this (and that’s saying something, it’s all disturbing), is that it seems like he was a victim for no apparent reason. If they can pull aside anyone who has a valid visa, that puts anyone at risk at any time, no matter if you’ve followed the law or not.
If we ever needed decisive proof that Japan isn’t a rule of law country, this is it.
@Debito
I have recovered from my initial shock when I first read this article, and have in re-reading noticed many revisions in the last couple of days to the detention account posted above. I have also been following the discussion on your facebook page.
There are a couple of points now that are making uneasy about this story (despite the obvious content). Chris is refusing to clarify his visa status at the time of the incident, citing privacy issues, which seems a little odd, given his openness about the event. Can Chris confirm (or has he confirmed in private to you) that he was not rotating in and out of Korea to renew tourist visas, and in visa violation by working as a journalist on a tourist visa?
Also, the part where he was ‘wandering in and out of rooms’ whilst being questioned, trying to get a cell phone signal, seems to have been removed. I understand that this is a work in progress, but now I have concerns about authenticity. I feel as if this is an exercise in ‘crowd-edited’ fiction.
If Chris is following the debate here, please, may I ask if you have sent a formal letter to G4S UK head quarters by way of complaint at their mistreatment of you? Have you taken legal advice from a lawyer about being robbed ‘at gun point’ by a private security firm, and Asianna Airlines? Have you asked your local politician in Canada for their support in protecting Canadian nationals from human rights abuses by this security company?
If the story is to be taken on face value, it would seem to me that the practices of G4S are at question here, and not the Japanese government pre se (at one point Chris does indicate that Japanese immigration officials regarded G4S staff with contempt).
It’s interesting how a tiny minority of readers, instead of being moved into action against the mistreatment of thousands of foreigners (including bilingual white guys) since at least 1995, must find a way to probe or attack the messenger. While I put my name and rep on everything I write, these cynics trash me on FB or hide behind pseudonyms on fuckedgaijin.com (now under investigation for slandering me and my partner, btw). They do not have the guts to delve into human rights abuses in Japan, or to take action that is for their own personal benefit. Instead, they blame the victims (such as former Yomiuri journalist Dan Bloom and many others). The larger issue here is that propaganda is so pervasive in Japan, people eventually become conditioned to it and calloused by it, and they are offended by the sudden intrusion of truth. They deal with it by rejection, denial, and attacks on the messenger. This will likely continue until they themselves become the victim of this extortion scam. Then they will feel miffed that “nobody believes my story”.
Yoku kiite ne. It does not matter what visa you have, or what you think is your almighty status. You are either Japanese, or a visitor. A visitor does not have automatic right to enter Japan. They cannot deny Japanese entry to Japan. They CAN deny foreigners, even if you can recite the Tale of Genji in Kansai-ben.
As for the question of the reporter’s visa, (which is nobody’s business, btw), that question was answered in the story. (You cannot board a flight to Japan unless you have a proper visa. You cannot even check in for a flight on Asiana from Tokyo to Seoul unless you have a proper visa to return to Japan. They are that strict.)
I suppose that tiny minority of skeptics in denial will now be demanding to know about my bank accounts and stock trading accounts in Japan, our marital status, the breeds of our dogs, the plants we grow, and how they have hacked my computer, blocked access to my website, and harassed my partner, a Japanese national. The fact that I have two dogs, one black and one white, will indicate that I was somehow not happy with the black dog, and therefore bought the white dog, which means I’m a racist. The black dog was a Canadian breed, therefore I’m biased against Japan. Or they will note that the white dog is a Japanese breed, meaning I hate my native Canada. Or it indicates that I am wishy-washy, and can’t decide between Japan and Canada, so I have to have two dogs. Or I’m a tree-hugging hippy, because I have a white dog and a black dog.
Hello? None of that matters. The story is about YOU, not about me. YOU lack rights in Japan. YOU are vulnerable to this extortion scam. YOU can disappear down a black hole. YOU have to be smart and defend yourself by taking action against this scam. Wakatta?
— Welcome to my world, CJ. The Haters gotta hate. And too much Truth Octane upsets their blinkered and fragile view of the world. Remember, there’s lots of them and one of you, so don’t get exhausted by trying to answer them all, all the time. Stick to your story, take in their questions, and answer them all at once in one FAQ when you think the questions are starting to abate. Meanwhile, get other credible sources on board to start researching and corroborating.
The fact that Amnesty International did an entire report on this a whole decade ago should provide some corroborated plausibility. Except when people don’t want to listen. There’s not much you can do about them. Just tell the truth with clarity and accuracy, and have faith that vindication will come. Here’s one example of that from Debito.org’s history (and even then The Haters refused to capitulate. See?)
@CJ
Thank you for taking the time to post on Debito.org. I am honestly interested in your story. I am not interested in your bank accounts, dogs, or pot plants. This type of over-reaction is not improving your credibility.
I don’t understand what you mean by;
‘You cannot board a flight to Japan unless you have a proper visa. You cannot even check in for a flight on Asiana from Tokyo to Seoul unless you have a proper visa to return to Japan’, since any Canadian national could enter Japan from Korea on a tourist visa, which would mean that there wouldn’t be anything from the J-gov in a passport for the airline check-in staff to check. Your statement is confused or untrue, and that is why people are having problems with your story.
If anyone thinks that this makes me a ‘hater’, then they should take the time to read all the posts I have ever made.
@Jim Di Griz
“I don’t understand what you mean by; ‘You cannot board a flight to Japan unless you have a proper visa. You cannot even check in for a flight…”
This is also -strictly- enforced on EVA (or was it China Aiines?) from Taoyuan airport. How, when Canadians are visa exempt? Simple! If you have entry visas in your passport, you need a valid reentry permit, and they know it. They a few times became confused, and they have made me walk them through which visa + entry stamp + reentry permit + exit stamp + open stapled in reentry card will allow me back. Or according to the supervisor (this is airline staff in Taoyuan, now), otherwise I would only be permitted to take a flight to Canada. This has not happened for a few years, and never at Taipei City Airport (Haneda is so much closer too at the Tokyo end, works great, but I get off topic).
And surely you also know the reason for this, clearly stated to me by the airline also. They are responsible to get you back out if you can’t get through Japan immegration.
@Jim
If you waste some of your time and read some of the comments on fuckedgaijin.com then you would see that CJ’s reaction is in no way, shape or form an over-reaction. I followed the link and I had to stop reading after about 7 or 8 minutes. While there are some interesting points, having to read through all the other crap is mind numbing. I have more important things to do with my time, like watching TV or playing video games. Anyway after reading a small, but mind rending portion of the fuckedgaijin.com thread, I think that CJ hit the nail right on the head with his response.
I’ve read a number of your comments here on debito.org and they are usually very interesting and I more often than not agree with you, however, this time I think you’re wrong.
Here’s what troubles me greatly: we all know that the Japanese bureaucracy is rigidly hierarchical and infamously inflexible. Debito has been blogging about this for years. No-one is willing to buck “policy” or what their superiors have decided. People who would easily qualify for PR run into stone walls because the low-level lackey behind the desk doesn’t want to take responsibility for submitting paperwork up the chain only to have it refused, and then have his boss mad at him for wasting his (the boss’s) time with an application that wouldn’t have been approved. So, the guy at the bottom of the food chain stalls.
This phenomenon affects Japanese as well, as Debito perhaps knows if he had to renew his passport recently (or will likely find out next time he tries to renew it): local passport offices across Japan have been closed and the work fobbed off on local city and ward offices to be done by people who really don’t know what they are doing and who are more afraid of inconveniencing the regional passport office than they are of inconveniencing the applicant. So they stall – “There’s a shadow on the passport photo, this won’t do.” “Your glasses are too ‘modern’, you should take them off for the photo since you’ll just change the glasses in a year or two.” Then next time it becomes “Do you always wear glasses? Well then you need to have them on in the photo…”
But now we are told that a person arrives at immigration, presents a current, valid passport containing a current, valid visa and a current, valid re-entry permit (since this would be the definition of “legally in Japan/allowed to re-enter Japan”), with both of these last two issued by a higher-up in the immigration department of the Justice Ministry (ostensibly all visas are “approved by the Justice Minister”) and the low-level apparatchik at the counter chooses to IGNORE these stamps and refuse landing permission.
I never say “never”, but I am having a very, very hard time with this concept. I just cannot see that lackey behind the desk making more work for himself, and his boss, and risking incurring the wrath of his boss and the people above his boss by deliberately ignoring the fact that higher-ups in immigration (“the Justice Minister”, no less!) have looked at this individual’s case and made a decision to issue him a visa and grant him a Status of Residence in Japan, as well as have granted him a permit to allow him to leave and re-enter Japan.
Ignoring what the higher-ups already decided for him/her and denying landing permission would require a level of independent thinking that we all know is generally lacking in bureaucrats and civil servants in Japan. To say nothing of a comment of “unable to follow instructions” on a personnel review is only slightly better than a death sentence for a career here.
More information on Christopher’s Status of Residence within Japan is needed here.
@CJ
CJ keep up with this. You have a fellow Canadian pulling for you. Unless I see an article soon that states there will be reforms to prevent this from happening I may seriously reconsider my wanting move to Japan.
Since the NHK lifers on http://www.fuckedgaijin.com have been asking about my visa status, I feel that I owe them an honest answer, in keeping with the fine tradition of truth in Japan. In fact, I escaped from Insein Jail in Rangoon and don’t even have a passport. After making my way overland via Lhasa to the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad, I caught a ride on a Globemaster, stopping off for a rendition in Kandahar. I was hoping they’d drop me off in Ginowan but only made it to Camp Henry, so had to stowaway on a ship to Nagasaki. Thus I never had a visa to Japan, and they finally caught up with me. So it’s all my fault. Like the other 100,000 foreigners, I deserved the punishment.
(Sorry Debito-san. Just having fun.)
CJ, the haters are angry because your truth-revealing is spoiling their postmodern, techno anime fantasy or “extended vacation” in Brand Japan.
This kind of apologist who is still here must be, post Fukushima, post everything that has happened in the last decade, just SO in denial that anything vaguely ruining this otherwise dreamy escape from drudgery back home/expat posting is most disconcerting. I was an apologist too, but that was back in the 80s bubble, so I had an excuse.
They probably think you were “being negative” and if you had been super “genki” and bowed deeply to your elders and betters at the immigration gate making a sign of fealty, respecting imperialist customs and not written those news articles vaguely disparaging your gracious hosts, you would have not had those problems.
It was all a “cultural misunderstanding” you see…
Jim di Griz raises a valid point about boarding a flight from Tokyo to Seoul. Asiana are super-strict about letting foreigners check-in, probably because they are acutely aware of the thousands of foreigners jailed in Japan, including many Koreans. I have also noticed increased uptightness at airlines flying out of Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh over the past two years, and they say Japan is really cracking down on foreigners. In the case of Asiana, they really go over your work visa and re-entry permits, plus the amount of money you are carrying. If you were thinking of going to Seoul to renew a tourist visa (or perhaps a student visa?) even having proof of an onward ticket out of Japan might not get you on the flight. Japan and South Korea really do hate each other, and their police forces will not cooperate on a case of theft from your baggage, as I’ve discovered. If people need to make a “visa run”, probably better to go to Taiwan, which Japan considers a colony. Better yet, leave Japan for a few years if you can, until they snap out of their dark spell and wake up to reality.
@CJ
What legal action are you taking against G4S?
I’m sympathetic to this story, but CJ’s evasiveness on the visa issue concerns me.
All the haters out there have picked up on the visa point and are bashing it to death.
@ CJ
Sorry to hear this happened to you. The use of private security firms for these types of activities is becoming more prevalent and is rather disturbing. I think this happens in other countries as well as Japan.
I understand having this happen to you must generate alot of anger. I am also curious about your visa status, not to validate or invalidate your story but as you said this is about “US” and I think having this information would be of value. Are there certain statuses that could be scrutinized more than others?
If you do not mind could you share a bit more about this?
Thanks
Don’t be fooled by the “haters” and cyber-bullies. The hate and bullying on http://www.fuckedgaijin.com is largely emanating from cranky old men at NHK who resented my attempts to blow the whistle on their chronic squandering of taxpayer funds. These corrupt sycophants have made more than $2 million each the last 20 years sleeping at their desks, playing online poker with drunks in America, reading books, playing solitaire, getting buzzed or drunk on the job, and slandering or blacklisting anybody who threatens their privileges. They have done nothing to investigate or publicize the rampant abuse of foreigners and earnest Japanese in Japan. On March 11, they reported, according to the WSJ.com, that everything was OK at the Fukushima reactors. For years prior to 311, they systematically suppressed any criticism of Japan’s nuclear industry or ruling regime. Their earnings have largely gone toward real estate in Victoria, Vancouver, Quebec, Manhattan, Europe and elsewhere, not into the Japanese economy. They are vampires draining the life-blood out of the foreign community in Japan, and Japan itself. But they are only a tiny minority who blame the victim and disrespect my privacy during a very difficult time. The vast majority of the 4000 people who have viewed my website have been supportive, and my friends and family have been incredibly supportive. This gives me hope that we finally have a chance to stop these abuses.
Doug, I don’t think your visa status matters. Mine didn’t. At Narita, they have arbitrary powers, and they abuse them. They decide “Entry Denied”, and then find a rule or excuse to justify it. They don’t have to explain their reasoning, and as you know if you live in Japan, reason and rational often means nothing. They simply can, and they do. it’s interesting that I haven’t found or heard many cases of abuse at Haneda, or other airports in Japan. I strongly suspect there is a criminal syndicate working at Narita. One guy marks a paper “Entry Denied”, hands you off to a guy who shakes you down for 30,000 yen, hands you off to another guy who takes away your rights in the dungeon, who hands you off to another guy who forced you to buy a rip off plane ticket. How much money do they make? Well, if Amnesty is right in saying they deport 7 per day, that sounds like 200,000 yen for extortion, plus a mark-up of maybe 50,000 to 350,000 on the one-way flight, which you have to buy. Do the math? How much do they make on that? Where does that money go? Who can stop them from doing this?
Forget about the nice people you meet 99.9 percent of the time in Japan. These guys are different. The usual rules of Japan don’t apply. But this time, the scam is up.
Mr. CJ,
I am genuinely interested in your story. And I feel for you. Have you filed any complaint with the proper authorities? Are you in Japan again? I hope you can get a lawyer to help you. Surely, the detention rooms have cameras?
Regardless of your visa status, no one should ever be threatened or coerced in such a manner. However, for the peace of mind of some of us who are working in Japan with proper visas, would you say that these “thugs” could just come and get us?
Best of luck to you.
CJ, thanks to you all future Japan travel by this Canadian will not include Narita Airport. You have my thanks and my most sincere condolences.
Hi Anna, thanks for your kind words. Since I’ve been expelled, I’m not even allowed to go back to Japan to get my things. This is a difficult phase of my life.
I hope you can find the time to look at my revised reports on Globalite Magazine, which answers many of your questions. NGOs say that Japanese authorities have picked up many foreigners on the street over past years, and it’s not clear if they had proper visa status or not. Don’t be unnecessarily paranoid, but at the same time, please be aware that foreigners lack rights in Japan that we take for granted in other countries. I am surprised at how many white male Westerners have been detained and expelled, in addition to the mistreatment of thousands of Asians, Africans and others.
After you read my revised story, please let me know if you have more questions.
I don’t think your visa status matters that much either. It’s not particularly relevant whether you even arrive with no visa and you require one. Of course, those of us who’ve been lucky enought to have our visas in order from day 1 somehow expect nothing like this to ever happen to us. This is the sort of thing, they maybe feel, that happens to “thems” who somehow deserve whatever gets dished out. but the real point is about human rights abuses, not visa status. It’s about what happens to you behind that door. Being denied entry to Japan should not entail all the other things it did in your case. I think it’s horrific, and it’s incredible that there has not been more exposure of this.
A good friend’s brother got caught up in this about 5 years ago. After going through the door, he was shaken down for the overnight accomodation, about $US400, cleaned out, and then they added not having enough money in cash on him to his crime of wanting to come in for a third time on a tourist visa. He was also forced to hand over the rest of his money for a one-way ticket back to Seoul He was denied phone contact with his brother who by this time was desperately pacing the floor at Narita terminal, but denied all access, and he was shipped back to Seoul, where he had just flown in from. There he was also thrown in the slammer, mainly because by then he had no money, and it took several days to finally get him out and onto a plane to LA, and then on to Argentina. But all that’s another story.
His experience in Japan was pretty much as you described it. Private security company, paying to be locked up in a detention centre, extortion, denial of all human rights. I had no idea of the set-up until this happened to him, and I was horrified at what happened to him.
Can’t say about the criminal syndicate, but the denial of entry sounds alot like what happens with an expired reentry permit.
CJ, did they confiscate your alien registration card too?
There must be some criminal element working there as only the police, armed forces, and coast guard can carry pistols in Japan.
There is no such thing as an armed private security guard in Japan (legally, that is).
Debito, CJ, please allow the following analogy to be shared, please consider this:
Imagine someone you respect was on their way home when stopped for a bike check.
Some police officers then arrest the person under the charge of “riding a stolen bike.”
Some police officers then commit ILLEGAL actions to the person in jail before sentencing.
Some private prison-guards then commit ILLEGAL actions to the person in prison after sentencing.
And finally, some deportation guards then commit ILLEGAL actions to the person before deportation.
Upon freedom, the person writes a summary for the world to read, about the ILLEGAL actions committed.
But the people reading the summary have one unanswered question, “So, bro, were you riding a stolen bicycle?”
Take note: regardless of the bicycle’s status, the ILLEGAL actions committed by the authorities must be investigated.
This person who we respect has become the victim of ILLEGAL actions committed by authorities, that’s for certain.
The problem, in my opinion, is when this person replies, “I was ‘legal’… but I won’t admit the bicycle’s status.”
In my opinion, there is an embarrassing fact about the bicycle’s status that our friend telling the story won’t admit.
And, in my opinion, our friend is either accidentally or purposefully not understanding what “legal” really means.
If the bicycle was in fact stolen, one can no longer call oneself “legal”, regardless of owning dogs and paying taxes.
And if one was working in Japan without “permission to work” status, one can no longer call oneself “legal”. Correct?
In my opinion, simply having a valid tourist visa, even if “valid”, does not necessarily mean that you are “legal”.
Simply having a valid tourist visa, even if “valid”, doesn’t legally require immigration to let you in, unfortunately.
Look, I’m against borders and passports and visa checks altogether: http://www.debito.org/?p=7910#comment-213732
Still, no matter what one’s opinion is, I think we can all agree that full honesty is important, for this testimony.
So CJ, understanding that the authorities’ ILLEGAL actions must be investigated NO MATTER WHAT, please tell us:
Were you holding a valid “permission to work” status? Yes or no, if no then what status or visa were you holding?
The sooner you proudly proclaim (or humbly admit) the truth about this question, the sooner we can focus on G4S.
If you continue to reply, “It uh, doesn’t matter what my visa or status was,” then it seems to me you weren’t legal.
To conclude this post, CJ, brother, even if you weren’t legal, we need you to be fully honest, to get G4S prosecuted.
Please, I’m putting my name on this, I’m humbling asking you to humbly admit what status or visa you were holding. Please.
CJ,
If I understand correctly, you believe that your visa status is irrelevant, because the issue you want to raise is that what happened to you shouldn’t happen to ANYONE. That’s true, as far as it goes, but it’s not the whole issue. This is not just about what happened to you. It’s about how people respond to it. Debito is all about activism, and people’s actions may depend on your visa status.
Take my wife. She’s Japanese. I’m not. If tell her about what happened to you, she’ll say, “Well, I’m glad you’ve always been careful about your visa. I’d hate for that to happen to you.” But if you were to tell us the details of why entry was refused, and if, in her judgment, that’s something that might happen to me, there’s a chance she’d use her family’s political connections in Narita to get something done about this.
I’m not saying that’s right or wrong. I’m just telling you that’s the way it is. If you care about more than just telling a good yarn, your visa status matters.
Another thing: this is affecting your credibility. People are not taking you seriously because you won’t reveal your visa status. Doesn’t this matter to you, as a journalist?
Thanks CJ for sharing your experience – and as always thanks Debito for highlighting this issue. Scared the hell out of me – dunno if I want to go to Narita again! Am sharing it with my gaijin and Japanese friends on facebook, it may open some eyes as it has opened mine. I really hope you get back here as soon as possible and I meet you in a bar – the beers are on me, I want to hear your stories! Best wishes, Damo
I kept reading this discussion, and I find the experience really, really frightening. I truly sympatise to CJ.
About his visa status, I really don’t think it is going to matter in case he was working as a freelance journalist, and he wasn’t getting paid by a company inside Japan. Just like the numerous bloggers and travel guide publishers’ researchers, who travel around Japan for a week or two and gather info for their employers/readers, and get paid when they go back and write down what they have seen.Strictly speaking, what these people, especially the bloggers, are doing, is kind of journalism, so they should take journalist visa, however, such visa can be issued only if they are supported by some media in their countries. Yet they come and go.
The major difference between the above and CJ is how frequently they enter/leave Japan, especially for Korea. Actually, I’ve read the experience of another guy (I think on this site, but I could be wrong) who was doing the so-called visa run,living nicely in Japan and teaching English. There are many “English teachers” who are living like that, I myself have seen at least 3 people teaching on tourist visa.The guy in question was pulled out and later on denied entry, only with him it happened faster. And judging from the question asked, I think CJ was mistaken for English teacher on visa run.
It is time for CJ to take a legal action. It is very likely that G4S doesn’t know what their stuff here in Japan is doing, what kind of people they employ, etc.Maybe it is the old “Japanese corporative mentality”, if the person in charge for HR is Japanese. Let the media know this-there’s nothing more terrifying now for Japan than bad publicity, especially for tourists.
Yes, and better control on English language schools/teachers inside the country is, I think , better than randomly pulling people aside and abusing them for no reason.
In answer to questions about taking legal action against airlines and security companies, all legal options are on the table.
In regards to cyber bullying and attacks by commentators at http://www.fuckedgaijin.com and other hate sites in Japan, I’ve been informed about recent court decisions in Japan which have awarded millions of yen in damages for defamation. According to the “Provider Responsibility Guidelines Law” (provider sekinin kisei-ho), Article 2 Clause 1 (Electronic Mail Privacy), the defendants also had to reveal the IP addresses of the people who posted the damaging comments. In the case of NHK staff, their posts are already tracked to their homes and newsrooms (in the basement and on upper floors), and stored by providers that are licensed by the government. In layman’s terms, pseudonyms don’t mean shit. We know who you are.
@CJ
Why are you so angry at the ‘haters’? Shouldn’t you have bigger fish to fry right now?
Adam Mynott, Director of Media Relations at g4s, the world’s largest security company, kindly informed me in an email that g4s “does not have any security business whatsoever at Narita Airport, nor are there any g4s affiliated Japanese companies working as security guards at the airport.”
In the course of my research about guards mistreating detainees at Narita, I have also found no proof that g4s is operating at Narita.
This raises key questions: who are the guards escorting detainees at Narita? What company are they working for? Why is “gas” written on the side of their van? Since “gAs” and “g4s” look quite similar, is that company “pirating” the logo of g4s, a respected international company? Or is it simply a coincidence?
I would like to be absolutely certain about what is happening at Narita. You will note in my work in progress on Globalite Magazine that I wrote: “It’s not clear if g4s hired the guards accused of extortion and abuses at Narita since at least 1996. It’s also unclear if the guards, speaking foreign languages during my detention, were Gurkhas from Nepal or nationals of other countries.”
I have since corrected this on Globalite Magazine, thanks to the information from Adam Mynott. The new revision to this work in progress is: http://globalite.posterous.com/inside-the-gaijin-tank-dungeon-at-narita-airp-91122
I originally thought I saw “gas” written on the van and the uniforms of the guards. After my draft story first appeared, with no mention of g4s, several people wrote me to say that it should be g4s, and they showed me internet links saying g4s operates at Narita, and i checked the links. Thus I wrote in my revised draft:
(((Who are these guards? In my delirium during detention, I originally thought I saw “gas” written on their uniforms and van.)))
Are you sure it is not NAS (Narita Airport Security)?
http://www.narikei.co.jp/company/company.html
G4S does security for Narita Airport.
Adam Mynott is either mistaken (low chance) or lying (high chance).
http://www.guard.co.jp/kokusai.html
G4S International Logisticsの日本における正規代理店
Clicking the “G4S International Logistics” link on that page will take you to:
http://www.g4si.com/
Clicking the “G4S Global” link on that page will take you to:
http://www.g4s.com/
Clicking the “What We do” link on that page will take you to:
http://www.g4s.com/en/What%20we%20do/Sectors/Ports%20and%20Airports/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/oct/29/g4s-security-loses-deportee-contract
Three G4S guards arrested after death of Angolan man were released on bail after being questioned over the death of Jimmy Mubenga, an Angolan who collapsed and died on BA flight 77 as it was preparing to depart for Luanda.
The performance of G4S guards has been questioned for several years. A document obtained by the Guardian reveals the Home Office warned G4S in 2006 that restraint techniques used by its guards potentially impeded breathing and could result in a fatality.
The letter, headed “positional asphyxia” – a form of suffocation caused when people are placed in dangerous restraint holds – was circulated to all G4S staff in 2006 after guards were spotted using an unauthorised form of restraint.
The circular was triggered after an immigration official witnessed G4S guards pushing a violent detainee forward and placing his head on the headrest in front.
“We have consulted the Prison Service in respect of this, given the concern highlighted that placing detainees in this position could cause breathing difficulty,” the letter said. “Advice is that holding detainees in this manner could restrict airways and potentially result in positional asphyxia.”
There are currently three Metropolitan police investigations into allegations of mistreatment by G4S guards this year, two of which relate to complaints that the breathing of detainees was somehow impeded.
@OG Steve,
Sorry, I may be missing it, but following the links I can see nothing that explicitly links G4S with the provision of the relevant type of security services at Narita airport, and therefore nothing to suggest that Adam Mynott is “lying”. In fact, if one thinks logically about it, it would be foolish for him to lie about something so easily verifiable.
Looking at the logo for G4S here…
http://www.bbbc.org.uk/data/images/3rd_party_logos/g4s_logo_2009_websafe_jpg.jpg
…it’s easy to see how it could be mistakenly read as “GAS”. Tricky.
SJM
I was wrong, and I owe Adam Mynott an apology. Sorry about that Adam.
G4S Global owns G4S International Logistics.
Century K.K. is an Official Agent of G4S International Logistics.
Century K.K. does both Shipping and Security work in general.
Century K.K. does have a Branch at Narita International Airport.
But, I now see Century K.K.’s Narita Branch does only Shipping, no Security.
So CJ, your initial impression “G.A.S.” was probably correct.
グローバルエアポートセキュリティ株式会社 “Global Airport Security” K.K.
http://www.narita-airport.jp/eco/report_ecoairport/04_02.html
So we now know: G4S is doing illegal things (see UK evidence above), AND G.A.S. K.K. is too.
So CJ you might want to have your lawyer start collecting evidence about グローバルエアポートセキュリティ株式会社.
Still, I don’t like the fact that your lawyer told you to not admit what your visa status was:
http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2012/01/japans-immigration-control
Narita security guards accused of beating detained foreigners (Japan Times, 2000)
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20000808a4.html
Its good that The Economist picked this up. Try other media too. This will work even better than a lawsuit itself.
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