While riding my bicycle today, (yep, that’s my ride), I was stopped on two separate occasions by the Tokyo Police. Both times I was asked politely if I would spare a moment of my time while they ran a check on the registration. Since my bike’s built-in lock was broken some years ago due to the fact that I lost the key, and since I’m white… I realized that I seemed somewhat suspicious.
So rather than giving the police a hard time I complied and made all of our lives simple.
My bike checked out fine both times and I was on my way after a series of questions that I found to be a bit intrusive. But since I had nothing to hide and nowhere to be at any certain time I didn’t mind answering their questions. These two cops, the guys who stopped me while returning from the club in the wee hours of the morning, didn’t mind posing for a pic for the Tune-In-Tokyo blog. Thanks boys!
interesting, i look forward to being stopped in japan when I eventually get there :D
I look forward to being a complete asshole to them the first time they try to stop me.
it might seem like fun, but it doesn’t get you anywhere. you’re better off just being cool and getting on with your life. i sound like an old man don’t I?
There’s a big difference between asserting your civil rights and being an asshole. Doing the former means you might end up on postage stamps, people write songs about you, and you change the world for the better. Doing the latter means, as I once learned to my considerable cost, that you spend a most uncomfortable evening in the detention of Tokyo’s finest. (There’s a reason they call it the “buta-bako”, and I assure you that it is not because they serve delicious bacon for breakfast.) Not to mention that assholery just reinforces the stereotype that foreigners are suspicious and unpleasant, which only serves to make carding more, rather than less, likely for us all.
tl;dr – don’t be an asshole, be like Billy.
Mature.
There’s a way to assert your rights without being a jerk (which could be counterproductive).
This video is designed for the U.S. (done by the ACLU), so the law references are not 100% directly equivalent (but are similar as the JP and US Constitutions are similar). The advice on dealing with police officers, is mostly applicable. Worth your time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDJrQBwJpqk
I hope you’re kidding, David. Please don’t be an asshole in Japan.
I would love to get pulled over by the Japanese police! They seem calm and collected compared to the cops in the States. I would probably invite them to dinner!
I’m a 50 year old Canadian of Japanese origin who routinely walks through Akihabara on my way home. I’ve been stopped by both plain clothed and uniformed cops six times in the last two years. I too answer their questions and even let them search me by checking out the “suspicious” bulges under by jacket because, even though I have the legal right to refuse, that would only waste more of my time and theirs.
Doesn’t mean I like it, but they are very polite and clearly doing a stop and search based on a profile (Geeky looking Otaku like people with bulges under their jackets?) Oddly, they have never asked for my ID and have never taken my name down and in nearly every case the whole thing was over in less than a minute. All the cops were mostly friendly and answered my questions about why they were doing this (they’re searching of Otaku with knives.)
I wanted to point out that I’m of Japanese descent, because in my youth I’ve been stopped in Toronto because I looked “suspicious,” but here in Tokyo I’m basically the equivalent of the middle-aged white guy in Canada or the US! Never been stopped anywhere other than in the Akihabara electric town district’s main street – I usually stick to the back streets now to avoid the cops! I suspect I’d be stopped all the time if I walked on the main street! The first three times happened in a single week so I simply started avoiding the main drag unless I have to cross it!
Those cops looks like ugly guys who were picked on in high school.
BTW: I was being sarcastic when I said “because I am white”. I know they stop Japanese just as often.
I have no problem being stopped by the police. They’ve always been very polite during the process. They’re just doing their job – one which I surely wouldn’t want to do.
I’ve been told that my lock being broken was the reason for being stopped (more than once) and I’ve been advised that I should get a new lock to avoid being stopped in the future. But I’ve been lazy and I got the Y100 lock instead.
Why are you guys stopped by the cops so often? Is it the mama-chari bike that attracts attention? (Maybe we NJ are more associated with helmets and mountain bikes?) If it’s the same cops stopping you all the time, why is that? How can the police notice a broken lock on a moving bicycle?
Could you have someone secretly video all these occasions?
During the day, I’ve ridden my mountain bike all along the Tama river, and throughout the adjoining neighborhoods,and business districts, past kobans and I have never been stopped. Certainly police cars have passed me. Meter-maids have noticed me. Fifteen years no cops-a-stoppin’.
Which leads to an idea for a blog article: How to get yourself stopped by police; 10 surefire techniques that will cause the cops to demand your papers.
> Why are you guys stopped by the cops so often?
> Is it the mama-chari bike that attracts attention?
My Japanese friends always say that I look 怪しい on my bike but I have never asked them for a definite reason. I always just kinda laugh it off. But I’m going to get an answer about this and that might be my next blog topic. I suspect that it has something to do with a gaijin riding an old lady’s bike and they assume that I’d never buy something so horrendous.
> How can the police notice a broken lock on a moving bicycle?
You can easily see that the lock was removed on the front wheel even when riding.
I used to get stopped all the time when I was cycling home from work too, it does get irritating after a while. I was under the impression that only asians and not caucasians will get stopped. :]
That’s awesome! It’s like Tokyo’s version of CHIPS!
thank god they weren’t out that night for the scooter gran prix!
Marc,
Dude…
We would have been in some serious trouble.
What’s with all these silly comments about being rude to the police here? Most Japanese police are overly polite and gentle towards people. I’ve never had a bad experience with a Japanese police officer. My suggestion is to not take the J-Cops’ good nature for granted. They’ll never taze you (bro) and will never give you a beat down for no reason.
Being disrespectful for the sake of it is just plain moronic. Not trying to make a judgment call here, but seriously, there is no need for it.
Great post Billy!
I agree that the cops here are usually a bunch of softies, but lately I’ve noticed that a lot of officers stand in front of, or just inside their Kobans with their nightsticks firmly gripped in one hand. I’ve seen this most recently at the Koban at the NW corner of Yoyogi park.
Im still amazed that I have never been randomly stopped by the police. 5 years in Tokyo and never stopped. This is not to say I have not talked to police. It just means Ive never been stopped or checked at random. Shocking.
I’ve been stopped 4 times this week and I’m not riding around with a chainsaw either! The same bunch of cops stopped me twice… and the 2nd time they recognized me and we chatted about places to eat (or lack thereof) in Ebisu.
Dude, your ride is a Mamma Chari, ne? Last year I had one like yours and was stopped about 6 or 7 times over a year – it got pretty annoying but you have to play it cool with authority. A few times they would ask why I was riding such a piece a junk, cheeky feckers. Really though, Cops here don’t have an awful lot to do so any excuse to talk to someone….
Now I have a smarter ride and haven’t been stopped once in over a year. If you ride a naff bike that looks like it was abandoned (no offense to the author of this fine blog) you’re gonna be asked a few Q’s … think of it as a free Japanese Lesson? To avoid this kind of situation, get yourself a Louis Garneau!
You should have tried to outrun them!
Update – and something I find strange – since I bought a nice fixed gear bike a few months ago I haven’t been stopped a single time.
Why would police officers assume that I would steal a crappy bike… and not a nice, expensive bike. Where’s the logic?
Racial profiling. At least you’re not of a darker shade. If you were I’m sure they’d be lockin u up!
I was stopped by the police once too when I first got to Japan. It was in the metro, and I was surprised at first, but after I showed them my passport they were fine and I was able to turn it around and ask them for help buying a metro pass.
Here’s a YouTube video showing a prime example of the incompetence of the Japanese police. A guy riding a bicycle gets stopped by a police officer for no reason, which happens a lot in Japan. As the officer is asking him questions (which the guy is under no obligation to answer), we can hear an obvious traffic accident take place in the background just at the corner, and both the police officer and the bicyclist hear it. A reasonable police officer would realize that that was a traffic accident and that people may be injured and need first aid, etc. But no, this cop continues to question the bicyclist as if nothing happened. At 0:25 into the video he even denies that it was a traffic accident. After the bicyclist convinces him to do so, he notifies dispatch of the traffic accident, and then continues to question the bicyclist rather than tending to the possibly injured! This cop neglected to tend to a possibly serious and fatal traffic accident, all so he can perform 職務質問 (voluntary questioning) on a bicyclist!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGFY2EXvYoQ&NR=1
The 7-11 store where it happened in front of is located at 東京都世田谷区代田3-41-8
The road where it happened is 環状七号線 and the intersection where the accident occurred is 宮前橋交差点
Either the Setagaya or the Kitazawa police station have jurisdiction over that location.
I take it this guy was a gaijin? one of the many reasons why I finally decided living in Japan isn’t for me. when I was single I didn’t mind this type of BS incident so much… but now I have a child and it’s a different ballgame