My first run-in with the police

Saturday 18th July, 05:14 AM JST

By Jahrine Myles

Cycling is a big part of my life here in Japan, so big in fact that I own two bikes, one I keep at the train station in the town I teach at and the other I keep at home for getting around Sendai.

I generally adhere to the rules of the road, but one recent Wednesday evening, I was riding back from Jusco with my husband when, tired, wet and hungry for the fried nastiness in my bike basket, I did the unthinkable; I cycled over a crossing on a red light. My husband protested at first. “Jesus, are you trying to kill me?” I heard from over my shoulder (it was a pretty big crossing and the roads were busy), but the light had just turned from green, so he followed me across.

We were on our merry way once more, when the next thing we know, a police car is alongside us, lights flashing, sirens screaming and “stop please” blaring out of the megaphone.

“It’s because you don’t have a light, “I said to my husband. We stopped and watched as two police officers, both male—one in his 30s and the other in his 50s—got out of the police car. They didn’t introduce themselves, so for the sake of the narrative, let’s call the younger officer Baby-face, and the older officer Ed.

“Konbanwa,” said Ed.

“Konbanwa,” we sheepishly replied, heads bowed like naughty school kids waiting for a telling off.

“Light was red,” he said in English, and pulled a notepad and pen out of his shirt pocket.

We apologized a million times and tried to come across as otherwise law abiding gaijin. Neither officer looked very impressed. Baby-face was shining his torch over our bikes and scowling, Ed was staring at me; maybe he was thinking about how to ask the next question in English.

“Do you understand Japanese?” he asked in Japanese.

“Only a little,” I replied, also in Japanese. They exchanged another unimpressed look.

He seems to speak a bit of English, though, I thought, what a relief. This relief was short-lived however, as he proceeded to ask the next load of questions in very fast, very quiet Japanese. Terrific.

He asked to see our gaijin cards. We handed them over. He questioned why there were two addresses written on them, one on the front and one on the back. We explained that we had moved apartments. Baby-face asked where we had been. We told him: shopping at Jusco. Ed seemed suspicious at this.

“It’s very far to Jusco from your apartment,” he said, his eyes narrowing (it’s 15 minutes by bike). We were beginning to feel like they had an ulterior motive. Either that or they were messing with us. By now, we had been standing there for about 15 minutes in the drizzling rain, the kind of rain that looks harmless but actually soaks you and makes you hate life. We wanted this whole thing to be over with so we could go home and eat. No such luck. The officers put their notepads away, then muttered something to one another.

“So, you are both English teachers. How much do you make a month? What is your salary?” asked Baby-face. My husband and I looked at each other: What the hell did that have to do with anything? “It’s none of your business, mate,” I wanted to shoot back, but we weren’t really in a position to deny them any information. I got the impression that we were expected to answer any questions they felt like asking. So we told them. My husband wrote it down on the back of his hand as we were too stupid (or flustered?) to work out how to say it in Japanese.

“Hmm,” was their response to the sum. Again they muttered to one another. Then Ed shone his torch into the basket on the front of my bike, pushed aside the top of the Jusco carrier bag and had a look inside.

“Hm, delicious chocolates,” he said. He looked disappointed.

“Uh, yeah,” I replied, wondering what he thought he would find. A severed head perhaps.

“Okay, thank you,” said Ed. Finally. We thanked them, and apologized some more. We were about to cycle off when Baby-face said: “influenza,” and gestured with his hand over his mouth. We nodded and said goodnight, unsure of what he was suggesting. Did he want us to wear masks constantly? And if so, why wasn’t he wearing one? Unless he was suggesting we should wear masks as we may be infected, even though we haven’t been outside of Japan for a year, and we told them so in the interrogation. We were too tired and wet to make a fuss about it at the time, so we rode off home. So ended our first run-in with the Japanese police.

I’m not really sure how I feel about the whole thing. A part of me thinks that they were just doing their jobs and that I’m a complete tool for crossing on a red light in the first place. But then I think about the questions they were asking and wonder if they would have asked them to a Japanese person. As for the influenza comment, well that just confuses me. Whatever they were implying and whatever the reasoning behind some of their questions, I’ll be waiting for the green man in future.

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Latest 15 of 97 Total Comments Show All

isthistheend at 12:54 PM JST - 23rd July

Apsara, since your husband is Japanese, then according to Cleo "I think that's a roundabout way of saying you talk like a girl/man". Total nonsense right? That's how I felt when he/she said the same thing to me above. And again, maybe they don't say it to you or your husband, but "how much money do you make" is OFTEN spoken here, just like "how much did xxx cost"comes out as frequently as what's the weather today.
flyingfish at 01:57 PM JST - 23rd July

burakimin des,

good on you .dont take any crap from these policemen -only by making it unpleasant for them and making them understand how racist it is will any progress be made. im interested in what law they showed you. they have to show you their id first and also give you a reason why they are stopping you before you are reqd to show your arc dont stand for any crap
fishy at 03:31 PM JST - 23rd July

when i was a high school student, i went to the U.S. for a year as an exchange student, and my host father (american) asked me how much money my father was making (that was the first topic at the dinner table on the FIRST day i arrived there !). He brought a pen and paper and made me write down the number. I thought it was rude and I knew, even though I was a teenager, that it was not a good question to ask..

In Japan, I have never been asked that question by anyone... Maybe those police officers asked the question because low income foreigners would be more likely to be involved in a crime and etc ?? hmm.
Nessie at 04:48 PM JST - 23rd July

Nigelboy, feel free to contact the Fukushima City police and ask them if they have a record of pulling over a gaijin on the night of July 22nd at 930PM. Im sure they do keep records ...

Citizens don't have access to records. You don't even have accesss to you own accident report in Japan.
Nessie at 04:49 PM JST - 23rd July

when i was a high school student, i went to the U.S. for a year as an exchange student, and my host father (american) asked me how much money my father was making

The correct answer is, "Enough, although it could be more."
cleo at 04:54 PM JST - 23rd July

according to Cleo "I think that's a roundabout way of saying you talk like a girl/man". Total nonsense right? That's how I felt when he/she said the same thing to me above.

Looks like what was intended as a joke (I said so, but the Mod appears to have taken it on himself to erase that bit) struck a chord somewhere.

But joke or no, it's not 'total nonsense' at all; men's Japanese and women's Japanese can be quite different. Learn most of what you know linguistically from a member of the opposite sex, and you will sound odd. I've learned to mark my questions with ~ka or ~no instead of ~kai, and to say things like de wa ikimashouka instead of ja, iku de, ii wa instead of ii yo etc etc. Has end learned to do the opposite? I've met lots of men who've learned Japanese mainly from their wives or girlfriends, and they sound really sweet. Conversely women who have learned from their husbands or boyfriends tend to sound a bit tough and scary. Been there, done that.
isthistheend at 09:15 PM JST - 23rd July

The point is the Jpn DO ask about salary, and DO "go shopping" and DO ask how much everything you have in your possession costs, especially if its a new "must have" item.

Why Cleo and others deny this point is beyond me, whether spoken by a male or female is beyond the point entirely.

Moderator: Back on topic please.
cleo at 09:24 PM JST - 23rd July

The point is the Jpn DO ask about salary

Not once in 34 years have I ever heard a Japanese person ask anyone, native or foreigner, how much they earn. Neither have I ever heard anyone ask how much someone else's possessions cost, unless it's part of a general discussion about prices/the cost of living/where to find a bargain - the cost of an iPod, for example, is no secret, but the cost of my diamond earrings is never mentioned.

Moderator: Back on topic please.
jessssicaaa at 11:24 PM JST - 23rd July

“influenza,” and gestured with his hand over his mouth

I think he wasnt trying to be rude, but because you said you were wet and such you might get a cold from it.. but who knows right :P
motytrah at 04:51 AM JST - 24th July

In the west a run in with the cops doesn't make the papers unless someone gets beat, tazed of shot. Just say'n.
SiouxGirl at 05:48 AM JST - 24th July

Is there a problem with overuse of painkillers in Japan/Tokyo? Where I used to live a person out of their mind on painkillers was driving and killed a highway construction worker. One thing about painkillers - you can't smell them on someone's breath like marijuana or alcohol. The police would have to do a little further investigation to see if the person they're talking to is confused, etc., or even a little sleepy, which would be weird for someone riding a bike. That would be a tip-off. I don't think the police were out of line here. Thank you to Mrs. Myles for admitting she did something wrong. Not everyone does. Maybe this is even the police officers' intent - being careful when you're riding a bike is serious business. Now the Myles's know it is serious business next time they're on the road in traffic.
Eddisofbextar at 08:31 AM JST - 24th July

OP and husband ran a red light, thats enough reason to stop them right there.

Jsatsu will show ID when requested, by law. This will be done before showing any tourokusho cards to prevent impersonators of Jsatsu from getting any personal information.

As for asking the salary, this is a privacy issue - which OP and husband decided to divulge. Everyone has the right to refuse to answer such a question.

Looking inside your shopping bag. If you were on foot and were not breaking any laws the police have no reason to stop you at all, let alone stop you just to check your bag(s) - tho I do see this constantly in Shinjuku near the Yodobashi Camera shopping area (young, old, man, woman, Japanese, non-Japanese... i've seen them stop all of them). As for being on a bicycle, I am not sure if the police have more discretion to search bags or not.

advice: 1. learn the language of the country you are living in! 2. don't run red lights. 3. don't answer private/personal questions if you are uncomfortable doing so.
Nessie at 12:02 PM JST - 24th July

As for asking the salary, this is a privacy issue - which OP and husband decided to divulge. Everyone has the right to refuse to answer such a question.

The question is whether it's professional for police to ask such a question. Most people on this thread seem to think it isn't. The onus is not all on the public. Who will trust the police when they go fishing for irrelevant personal details?
tigris at 03:27 PM JST - 24th July

By law the Japanese police needs a search warrant to inspect your bags. http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20090707ad.html

I carry the mobile number of a Japanese lawyer at all times. He always complains about the ignorance of Japanese people concerning their rights. Seems foreigners are no different. If you don't like it get informed.
nigelboy at 01:51 AM JST - 25th July

...If you want to go ahead and call me a liar. People like you destroy these forums, as others cannot voice an opinion to an article without being challenged and bombarded with statistics to try and justify their own position...which of course, is ALWAYS right.

Just to add, MOJ also released the statistics on where the visa violators were apprehended and it indicates that 82.5% (10,218 cases) were done in place of business and home. The remaining which the MOJ classify as "Others (i.e. street stoppage") is at 2,173. So to summarize, we have visa violators who came from Western nations (for argument sake, lets call them caucasians like yourself Burakumindes) that number in the teens while the Chinese are in the thousands. And yet your Chinese friend was never stopped while you have been stopped on several occasians including on the night of the July 22nd, 9:30 PM when the police car actually PULLED OVER and questioned you. In my own personal experience, I've never been pulled over but have witnessed two SE Asian women being asked for ID's and about 8-10 Japanese (all males) being questioned by the police on the street. Does that prove anything? Nope. But it certainly defeats your position of "some of them may not be the stereotypically corrupt officers" if you take my experience as well as others who had never been stopped at face value doesn't it?