THE JAPAN TIMES, July
27, 2004
THE ZEIT GIST
Know the law
As terror fears cause
crackdown, foreign residents should know their legal rights
By DEBITO
ARUDOU
Courtesy
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?fl20040727zg.htm
PHOTO: A Police officer stands guard at Shinbashi station in Tokyo
in March. More police have been deployed in train stations and
transport hubs as fears of a terrorist attack
increase.
You might have noticed the dragnet in Japan
these days.
Law enforcement's crackdown on foreigners (bolstered by
official
declarations on the subject, including yesterday's speeches by
Emperor Akihito on rising crime
and international terrorism and Prime
Minister Junichiro Koizumi on the
growing threat of foreign crime)
has resulted in a lot more people
being stopped on the street for
identity checks.
After all,
the current logic runs, who knows how many foreigners
have overstayed
their visas? Best to check anyone foreign-looking
just to make
sure.
However, "Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes?" asks the
responsible
society, and Japan is no exception. What's to stop the
authorities
from going too far? Japanese laws, of course. And readers
who are
Japan residents should be aware of them.
What should
you do if somebody asks for your ID?
Your "ID" is essentially
your "Gaijin
Card," since that is the only
form of identification
all foreign residents by law must carry.
When asked, say that only
the police can demand it. Anyone else,
such as a hotelier, a video
store clerk, a JR staff member, etc.,
cannot.
Check this out:
Alien Registration Law: ("Gaikokujin Touroku Hou")
Article
13; Clause 2: "The alien shall present his registration
certificate to the Immigration Inspector, Immigration Control Officer
(meaning the Immigration Control Officer provided for in the
Immigration Control Act), Police Official, Maritime Safety Official
or any other official of the state or local public entity prescribed
by the Ministry of Justice Ordinance, if such official requests the
presentation of the registration certificate in the performance of
his duties."
This means only those officials certified by
the Ministry of Justice
can demand it.
Still, some companies
refuse foreigners service unless they display
their passport or Gaijin
Card. Why? In many cases, such as Shinjuku
sports clubs, the police are
asking them to help find overstayers.
Deputizing the business
community is authority overstepped, and at
variance with the law. So
show them the above law, and ask to be
allowed to display the same ID
as any other Japanese customer.
What if
the police ask for your ID?
Ask for a reason
why.
Under Police Execution of Duties Act ("Keisatsukan
Shokumu Shikkou
Hou"); Section 2 (my translation), Clause Two:
"A police officer is
able to ask for a person's ID, but only if
based on a reasonable
judgment of a situation, where the policeman sees
some strange
conduct and some crime is being committed, or else he has
enough
reason to suspect that a person will commit or has committed a
crime,
or else when it has been officially determined that a particular
person knows a crime will be committed.
In these cases, a
police officer may stop a person for questioning."
You cannot
just arbitrarily come up to a person and ask him who he
is. There must
be a "specific crime" or "suspicion of a
crime"
involved.
The act of being a foreigner in itself
is insufficient probable
cause, and you should calmly let a cop know
that.
However, if a cop knows his laws (and chances are he will),
he might
assert (incorrectly) that the Police Execution of Duties Act
does not
apply to foreigners. The Alien Registration Law (Clause 2
above)
trumps it.
Or he might just come up with a reason, such
as "crime prevention,"
for stopping you on your bicycle. What
then?
Well, sorry, you will have to show your ID.
But
still there is a check. You can also ask the cop to show his ID back.
How?
The Alien Registration Law; Section 13, Clause 3: "In
case the
official mentioned in the preceding paragraph requests the
presentation of the registration certificate in a place other than
his office, he shall carry with him the identification card showing
his official status and present it upon request."
So
make the request. Once presented, I recommend you, again calmly,
write
down the cop's details. He will do the same for you, of course,
but
holding a cop personally accountable might give him a little
incentive
to treat you responsibly.
Note the loophole. The cop only has to
show I.D. if he stops you on
the street, or anywhere other than the
police box. So to avoid
showing you his ID . . .
A cop may try to take you to a police
box.
They cannot do so against your will, unless they
formally arrest
("taihosuru") you.
Under the Police
Execution of Duties Law; Article 2 (my
translation), Clause Two:
"It is possible to ask a particular person
to accompany the police
to a nearby police station, (police box), or
any police administration
area for questioning if it is determined
that this place is unsuitable
for questioning because it obstructs
traffic or is disadvantageous to
the questionee."
And Clause Three: "Unless there
is something connected with a
criminal court case, officials may not
confine, bring back to any
police administration area, or else coerce a
person to reply to
questions against his will."
This
means that a cop has the right to ask you to accompany him to
the
police box. But you have the right to refuse, and he has no right
to
restrict your movements without a formal charge or arrest. This is
not,
fortunately, trumped by the Alien Registration Law.
However, please
don't misunderstand. I am not advocating that you
give a cop a bad
donut day just for the sport of it. Police in Japan
have a lot of
discretionary power.
For example, if they feel you are being
uncooperative, and that
includes claiming your right to remain silent
("mokuhi ken" -- which
automatically carries a suspicion of
guilt here), they can arrest you
for "obstruction of official
duties" ("koumu shikkou bougai")
and
question you for up to 23 days on a single charge. So don't do this
for fun.
Nevertheless, checks and balances have become
necessary.
As seen in previous Zeit Gist
columns,
foreigners are being targeted
these days, often regardless
of any legal grounds or extenuating
circumstances.
Japan does
in fact have laws to curb this. So know about them. I
even suggest you
print them up and carry them around with you. I do.
As residents, we
should let people know that we won't accept wanton
questioning without
some kind of justification or explanation.
So keep a cool head and
make the authorities obey the law. It is
also there to protect
us.
For a walk-though an ID check
scenario, see
http://www.debito.org/instantcheckpoints2.html<
FONT
SIZE="4">. You can
download and print
up the Japanese text of the laws presented in the article
from
this link, and you may like to stick a copy in your wallet or bag
for
future reference or to show to a law enforcement
official.
Send your comments to: community@japantimes.co.jp
The
Japan Times: July 27, 2004
(C) All rights
reserved
----------------------------------------------------
ENDS<
BR>
July 29, 2004
debito@debito.org
http://www.debito.org