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Copyright ©2008
Shinjuku cops roust 'otaku' to boost sagging arrest stats
“The places you’re most like to get stopped and questioned are by the east exit of Shinjuku Station, around the Sakuraya Hobby-kan, or at the west exit, over by the Yodobashi Camera Game-Hobby shop,” the young man tells Weekly Playboy (Feb 4).
He’s referring to “shokumu shitsumon” or “shoku-shitsu” – the Japanese term for ex-officio questioning, which typically involves a policeman’s halting a citizen for impromptu questioning, and sometimes also asking to see the contents of a bag, knapsack or pockets.
Ostensibly the Shinjuku police had upped their patrols in response to Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara’s campaign to clean up nearby Kabukicho. But if the magazine is correct, the targets are not yakuza, street touts or other denizens of the dodgy drinking district. Nor are they drug pushers, or the mythical terrorist who might be concealing an explosive belt under his jacket.
Rather, they’re shaking down nerdy “otaku” types. “If they are carrying some sort of cutting instrument, they can be charged with violation of the Firearms and Swords Control Law, so this justifies questioning them,” confides an unnamed officer attached to the Shinjuku police station.
But aren’t they permitted to carry a knife for self-protection? “No,” the cop replies, “that’s not an acceptable reason. If you have one in your possession, you can be obliged to go into the koban, or even escorted to the police station. The police are especially suspicious of people who meet their gaze and then quickly look away.”
But, counters Weekly Playboy, “wouldn’t that characteristic also apply to most ‘otaku’ types anyway?” His response is non-committal.
What’s going on here? Is being a pimply, nearsighted geek suddenly being treated as a misdemeanor? A crime reporter for a nationally circulated daily newspaper confides to the magazine that it’s all about tweaking arrest statistics to make the police look better.
“In 2001, the average clearance rate for arrests leading to prosecution fell to an all-time low of 19.8%,” the reporter points out. “During the first half of 2007, it had recovered to 31.2%. It looks like police are under orders from the top not to let the rate fall any lower.
“At Shinjuku at least, the strategy would seem to keep up the arrest rate by rousting ‘otaku’ types. That’s a lot safer than shaking down gang members. So it looks like the police are doing things the easy way, boosting clearance rates without adopting any substantive improvements in their investigative capability.”
Weekly Playboy notes that according to the Performance of Police Functions Act, an officer can only stop and question a citizen based on “probable cause,” but of late, patrolmen around Shinjuku don’t seem to be particularly scrupulous in adhering to this stipulation.
Furthermore, not many young people are aware of their rights – they can legally refuse to answer and compulsory searches of bag contents require a warrant — but mounting resistance to a team of cops would probably just invite intimidation.
The magazine’s calls to the Shinjuku Police Station were brushed off without comment. So “otaku” are left with this advisory: when strolling around Shinjuku, leave your pocket knife at home and carry a paperback copy of the legal code instead.
January 21, 2008
Japan Today Discussion
| How can a cop |  |
Beelzebub   (Jan 21 2008 - 22:10) | Rate | Report |
| Haven't seen "roust" used for ages | |
| WhatJapanThinks (Jan 21 2008 - 22:31) | Rate | Report |
So, that means that given the 99.x% prosecution rates of court cases, it would seem that over two out of three arrested people never get charged!
Oh, and I wonder if they get a higher hit rate from otaku than gaijin cyclists...
| Dictionary definition of "roust" | |
| Beelzebub (Jan 21 2008 - 23:23) | Rate | Report |
to roust (third-person singular simple present rousts, present participle rousting, simple past rousted, past participle rousted)
(transitive) to rout out of bed; to rouse
(transitive, slang) to arrest
| Should have come witha a | |
| DeepAir (Jan 22 2008 - 09:06) | Rate | Report |
| Shinjuku cops roust 'otaku' to boost sagging arrest stats | |
| toolonggone (Jan 22 2008 - 17:18) | Rate | Report |
| toolonggone | |
| tkoind (Jan 23 2008 - 09:04) | Rate | Report |
The police in Japan are a joke in terms of actual functionality. I pity this country should it ever experience a real increase in real crime. In the few times I have seen the police respond to real and dangerous situations here, they have shown an amazing inability to deal with it. And in many cases simply throw numbers at the problem and bring half the districts cops to a simple traffic accident to mill about uselessly.
In any case this is just one more reason for me to keep Ishihara as number two on the list of people against the wall when the revolution comes. This guy is a fascist. I've written it here more times than I can remember and I don't use the term lightly. He is the exact kind of leader who would restore the secret police if he could find a way to justify it. And toss all the foreigners out no matter how bad it impacted Japan's economy. So this kind of edict to the police is no surprise from him.
To the Otaku out there. Welcome to our world. You are now officially foreigners. We'll be happy to speak to our home countries should you require political refuge.
| Shinjuku cops roust 'otaku' to boost sagging arrest stats | |
| plasticmonkey (Jan 24 2008 - 00:14) | Rate | Report |
| One more reason not to live in Tokyo | |
| usaexpat (Jan 24 2008 - 06:57) | Rate | Report |
| Shinjuku cops roust 'otaku' to boost sagging arrest stats | |
| nisegaijin (Jan 28 2008 - 17:47) | Rate | Report |
| Shinjuku cops roust 'otaku' to boost sagging arrest stats | |
| Bikkurin (Jan 31 2008 - 20:33) | Rate | Report |
I think Debito at debito.org has the text of the actual regulations on this his website somewhere
| Shinjuku cops roust otaku to boost sagging arrest | |
| phantasia (Feb 8 2008 - 17:59) | Rate | Report |
| Shinjuku cops roust 'otaku' to boost sagging arrest stats | |
| nitro (Feb 13 2008 - 11:11) | Rate | Report |
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