For those few who don’t believe that racial profiling is a thing here

26 comments

1. There is racial profiling and people who think that’s not the case can suck it. They stop you and basically ask loaded questions that pretty much give away that they have a preconceived view of you.

   Last time I was stopped I was asked “Are you on a short-stay visa?” and “Are you an English teacher?” and seemed baffled when I told them I was a permanent resident working as an 会社員. These are not questions you ask if you don’t have a preconceived view of the person you are talking to.

2. I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t believe that racial profiling is a thing here. Even the police don’t bother to hide the fact and even openly say it to your face.

3. “It’s not racism. Of course people who look foreign are more likely to do crime.”

   Hey, at least they see us as people.

4. *surprised pikachu face*

5. Paywall

6. Cops suck no matter where they live

7. One of the many important issues they need to address as immigration continues to rise in Japan.

8. The saddest part is the last paragraph to be honest. The person who was made late to work and her coworkers not believing it was common in Japan. it sort of perpetuates the point as due to racial profiling, the person is late for work which may lead to her coworkers thinking Sri-lankans are late, which in term supports the fact that they need ‘extra attention’ including by police.
   This person should visit the Koban and ask them to write an explanation as to why she was detained making her late, harming the business to justify it to the boss.

9. After being stopped in my neighborhood for the 3rd time in a week, I asked the officers why they were stopping me. They told me that their senior officer had told them to stop any foreigners they see, which they know is not allowed, but they have to do it.

10. I think there are 0 English-speaking people in Japan who don’t believe that racial profiling exists.

11. Racial profiling is absolutely a thing in Japan. It always has been, and it always will be but the differences you don’t end up getting shot to death or beat into death or otherwise murdered in the process. Usually you show your ID card and they’ll go away.

    Now let’s compare Japan to the US where the police murder their own citizens and more Time and not get away with it

12. Japanese police are one of the most racist police forces out there.

    How many times do us foreigners need to be stopped and asked for ID until this stops???

13. It’s behind a pay wall. Can anyone get the article?

14. My husband was *almost* stopped. Saw the cops looking at him and coming his way. I came out of the store and walked up to him. The cops gave up, walked the other way.
    I’m a foreigner too, but I’m nikkei and I can pass for a Japanese person.

    Kinda funny that they use my Japanese appearance as a shield for him, when the troublemaker between us is me. He’s the kind Canadian who patiently waits for everyone to go up the stairs before he can go down. I’m the Brazilian bitch who will side swipe both sides with my bags right down the middle because dumbass commuters can’t understand what the up/down arrows mean.

15. Any link to behind the paywall?

16. Here’s a [link](https://dnyuz.com/2024/03/05/racial-profiling-in-japan-is-prevalent-but-unseen-some-residents-say/) to the article text without the paywall.

17. I understand it exists but I don’t see it much in Fukuoka. Maybe cause there’s actual crime here more so than some other areas of Japan? Maybe the cops are just lazier or have different directives here? Maybe it’s my bias? 

18. Racial profiling exists here for sure, but funnily enough living in Nagoya I have never, not once, been stopped for ID *knocks wood*. I’ve only had the most welcoming experiences, once I even got stranded in a remote area and the police came and gave me a free ride to the closest train station, no questions asked, no bag checks.

19. Hah, I was approached by police a few times (I’m a white guy), but if they were suspicious, they didn’t show it. They offered help, and on a few occasions were super helpful! I considered it a positive experience. Especially compared with American police culture. I’m fully anti-cop at home.

20. brown guy going to japan soon, pls pray 4 me

21. I’ve been asked for my passport a couple times in shinjuku at night, they look at it and I leave, takes 20 seconds, it’s their country and their society works so whatever they wanna do I’m gonna smile and go along with it

22. I’m a white female, 43, mom of three, and live in a nicer area in Kyoto, just minutes from Osaka. I have never been stopped or giving a side eye, whatsoever. But I absolutely believe many others haven’t been so blessed. Is it a race thing, a gender thing, or the area that I live in? Why haven’t I been harassed. 😂 I have absolutely experienced it at the Kansai airport, though. I’m ALWAYS taken aside and given extra searches.

23. Well, while I do enter the “shit never happened to me” (and in fact the only two interactions I had with cops in Japan was after work on a pub and they were happy to talk with a brazilian guy), it’s clear that shit happens in a very annoying way.

    Just talk with some Dekasegi Japanese-Brazilians and you can get a lot of bad info about it.

24. The cops have been pleasant every time I’ve interacted with them in Japan and I was, not long ago, the demographic who would do dumb stuff.

25. Having lived in 4 different countries across three continents, it’s basically everywhere just manifesting in different ways and severity. if you’re a minority that’s basically life.

26. Do you believe that this is intentional and meant to discourage foreigners from living in Japan? This may be a feature not a mistake of Japanese police policy.