You are able to do as much as needed to keep yourself safe. If you are surprised and attacked, self defense is warranted until it isn’t. If you can keep yourself out of harms way, that is what is expected. You can’t seek out to injure the person and you can’t be the one to initiate a physical altercation. If you hit first or injure you can be arrested.
There is a doorbell, plus you can knock if you want to come in – then I’ll decide if I want to invite you in. Anyone unknown enters my place – especially at night – they are gonna get the shit beaten out of them(unless some lost old lady or whatever – you get the picture).
My answer is not a legal one – you do what’s right to keep you and your family safe. Personally, I would never wait for someone to do something. You are in my house – that is home invasion and I can only assume one thing which is harmful intent.
Now, if you’ve subdued the person sufficiently or they have run off, that’s as far as you go.
Let the chips fall after that.
As in most developed countries, you’re expected to do what you can to avoid contact full stop. The preferred approach would be to leave, contact police and raise the alarm. It may seem counterintuitive to some but if you’re in a physical altercation that you could’ve avoided by simply walking away then you’re at fault, even in your home.
You can defend yourself of course. You don’t have to wait for them to strike you, but there does need to be a reasonable expectation of danger—they’re barring your path, arming themself, taking swings, etc.
If you do defend yourself you **must only use the minimum force to get them to stop or make good your escape**. That doesn’t mean “neutralising the threat” as is the popular thought in some places, it means enough to allow yourself to leave or encourage them to do so. If you instantly react by splitting their skull with a bat then you’ve murdered someone. If they stop fighting back and back off but you decide to grab them and start swinging again, you’re assaulting them at that point.
So the short answer is yes, but only if there’s no way to escape and they aren’t trying to leave.
There was a post from someone years back here who when drunk after a festival, stumbled into an apartment he thought was his and passed out on the floor.
He said he woke up to a woman screaming and a big Japanese guy on top of him boxing the shit outta him.
No. Avoid confrontation.
Interesting mix of replies here. I can’t help but think about the recent case of the US national & family murdered by a crazy neighbor in their home. I often wonder how I’d react to an invasion as well, but that case will be in the back of my mind going forward unfortunately.
Why you asking? You looking for an excuse to punch someone?
“Could I kill a tiger armed only with a biro?”
For life defining advice definitely do not consult lawyers, just ask Reddit bros!
Ask my lawyer student about this and he said he could do what’s necessary… even so much as kill the person if warranted… as long as they break in your house
Because it doesnt happen often, you would be the pioneer. BUT the rule is “DONT hit a person who hits you” cause you are both victims then. I just had this nightmare today where somebody broke in and we strugle for a knife I grabbed from the kitchen. In a real situation I would definetely use it.
About 20 years ago, I was living in Yokohama. One night, I came out of my bedroom on the way to the toilet and came face to face with a couple burglars who had somehow picked my lock, opened the door just enough to cut the chain with bolt cutters, and entered without me waking up. I beat the shit out of those guys. Other neighbors called the police from hearing the ruckus. I managed to choke one dude unconscious, but the other got away before the cops arrived. My Japanese sucked (still does), but one of cops was a guy from my judo dojo and quickly understood what had happened, so I was super lucky. The guy I choked out came to, and the cops cuffed him, then they started slapping the shit out of him! The guy they arrested ratted out his accomplice, and he was also arrested. Apparently, they were Chinese, and other than having to write a personal statement, nothing else came of it on my end. The only downside was the cop told everyone at the dojo, and I got crap for not using more judo during my fight with the burglars. Oh, I did take a couple fists to the face (minor cut and a swollen lip) and my ribs got bruised from getting hit with the bolt cutters, but I definitely got the better of that exchange. I’m pretty sure the additional beatings from the cops were attributed to me, but nothing adverse happened, and from what little I could understand, self-defense in that situation was adequate and justified. If I had used a weapon, that might have been over-the-top and illegal.
I have a pump-action shotgun for hunting in the house.
I have often thought about simply cocking it unloaded in front of a would-be burglar just to scare the shit out of them, but knowing Japan’s retarded laws, I would be the one ending up in trouble, even with no rounds loaded, not aiming at the burglar, and with no intention to pull the trigger.
You can give them a little kiss to startle them. For guidance, look up Ocelot vs Solid Snake, MGS4.
Here’s the thing, now that you’ve read all the replies on the legalities of the situation.
The person broke into your home. The are already a criminal. Sans evidence to the contrary, the victim’s word is gold, and the criminal’s word is shit. Speaking from personal experience here.
You: He tried to attack me so I drilled him. Cops: He said you attacked him, unprovoked. You: He’s an admitted criminal who breaks into people’s houses. Why would you believe what he says? He’ll say anything now that he’s caught. I’m the victim here.
Never change your story.
Then end.
I think the key thing here is entering your home. It would be really difficult for the person to explain in court what they were doing there. You saying you feared for your life is a legitimate reason to give someone a bloody nose.
Even if they weren’t carrying a weapon you could be beaten, suffocated, strangled to death and you wouldn’t know a stranger’s intentions.
I wonder does anyone know about who burglars target? I’ve heard from a few Japanese people who got burglarized. One mentioned his grandmas house getting hit after grandma died which must be something organized looking for a lot of elderly have but another was just a random young single guy
I wouldn’t punch or intentionally try to hurt someone in that situation. This is why jiujitsu is such a great martial art – it allows you to control and subdue someone in a threatening situation without having to strike once.
Worry about yourself first, and if it means hit first, then you hit first
It’s Japan. You politely cluck at each other for ten minutes who should hit whom first. -Osakini douzo. -Ie ie, kochira koso. -Ie ie ie…
After knocking them out eventually, don’t forget to point with your finger at them lying on the floor and firmly say “yosh!” to confirm, otherwise it won’t count.
Hit them first and then just lie about it to the cops… say they hit you first. It’s just your word against theirs and, given that they have broken into your apartment, who’s going to believe them?
Record as much as possible on your phone. If you don’t, it’ll be your word against there’s.
In many countries, a burglar will seek to target a place that’s empty – the family are away on holiday, for example, or the single occupant is at work. They will aim not to spend much time on the burglary and avoid anything difficult or slow that might draw attention. Rather than bringing bolt cutters or picking locks, they’ll hope you’ve left a door or window open. Many times, it will be a spontaneous thing rather than a gang casing out a place.
Therefore, you’re probably better off investing in security than planning out how you’re going to incapacitate them. And locking your door.
Don’t take advice from reddit, LOL!
The cultural spectrum here is vastly different from police or courts.
My 2c: let the police do the polite punching instead.
This is an absolutely hilarious discussion from an American perspective.
This has nothing to do with NHK does it?s/
Out of curiosity, should we not act to cause unnecessary harm to the intruder, is it legal to restrain them using minimum force until the police arrive? (Blocking the door etc)
It’s okay. In Japanese law “盗犯等防止法” it’s recognized as justifiable self-defense to repel a burglar who breaks into your home. However, using a knife to stab or repeatedly hitting them with a shovel could be considered excessive defense, so it’s better to just punch or kick them instead.
I had a guy randomly attack me on the street in roppongi.
He was kinda weak so I grabbed his arms and laid on him until the cops came
5 hours later I was able to go home after giving them all the details
I asked them what if I hit back. They told me I would have been deported.
The guy was Japanese I’m American
The other guy wasn’t right in the head
This kind of question is a bit scary. And all of these responses saying yeah you have all right to attack without understanding exactly what your talking about is scary as hell too. What kind of house are we talking? Cause if it’s one of those homes with a larger genkan. People will come in and call for you to see if youre home if your front door is unlocked.
So I hope you aren’t waiting to pounce on that NHK rep in case he walks into your entrance area.
30 comments
You are able to do as much as needed to keep yourself safe. If you are surprised and attacked, self defense is warranted until it isn’t. If you can keep yourself out of harms way, that is what is expected. You can’t seek out to injure the person and you can’t be the one to initiate a physical altercation. If you hit first or injure you can be arrested.
This was cited as a resource when it was brought up last year. [https://www.cas.go.jp/jp/seisaku/hourei/data/PC.pdf](https://www.cas.go.jp/jp/seisaku/hourei/data/PC.pdf)
There is a doorbell, plus you can knock if you want to come in – then I’ll decide if I want to invite you in.
Anyone unknown enters my place – especially at night – they are gonna get the shit beaten out of them(unless some lost old lady or whatever – you get the picture).
My answer is not a legal one – you do what’s right to keep you and your family safe. Personally, I would never wait for someone to do something. You are in my house – that is home invasion and I can only assume one thing which is harmful intent.
Now, if you’ve subdued the person sufficiently or they have run off, that’s as far as you go.
Let the chips fall after that.
As in most developed countries, you’re expected to do what you can to avoid contact full stop. The preferred approach would be to leave, contact police and raise the alarm. It may seem counterintuitive to some but if you’re in a physical altercation that you could’ve avoided by simply walking away then you’re at fault, even in your home.
You can defend yourself of course. You don’t have to wait for them to strike you, but there does need to be a reasonable expectation of danger—they’re barring your path, arming themself, taking swings, etc.
If you do defend yourself you **must only use the minimum force to get them to stop or make good your escape**. That doesn’t mean “neutralising the threat” as is the popular thought in some places, it means enough to allow yourself to leave or encourage them to do so. If you instantly react by splitting their skull with a bat then you’ve murdered someone. If they stop fighting back and back off but you decide to grab them and start swinging again, you’re assaulting them at that point.
So the short answer is yes, but only if there’s no way to escape and they aren’t trying to leave.
There was a post from someone years back here who when drunk after a festival, stumbled into an apartment he thought was his and passed out on the floor.
He said he woke up to a woman screaming and a big Japanese guy on top of him boxing the shit outta him.
No. Avoid confrontation.
Interesting mix of replies here. I can’t help but think about the recent case of the US national & family murdered by a crazy neighbor in their home. I often wonder how I’d react to an invasion as well, but that case will be in the back of my mind going forward unfortunately.
Why you asking? You looking for an excuse to punch someone?
“Could I kill a tiger armed only with a biro?”
For life defining advice definitely do not consult lawyers, just ask Reddit bros!
Ask my lawyer student about this and he said he could do what’s necessary… even so much as kill the person if warranted… as long as they break in your house
Because it doesnt happen often, you would be the pioneer. BUT the rule is “DONT hit a person who hits you” cause you are both victims then. I just had this nightmare today where somebody broke in and we strugle for a knife I grabbed from the kitchen. In a real situation I would definetely use it.
About 20 years ago, I was living in Yokohama. One night, I came out of my bedroom on the way to the toilet and came face to face with a couple burglars who had somehow picked my lock, opened the door just enough to cut the chain with bolt cutters, and entered without me waking up. I beat the shit out of those guys. Other neighbors called the police from hearing the ruckus. I managed to choke one dude unconscious, but the other got away before the cops arrived. My Japanese sucked (still does), but one of cops was a guy from my judo dojo and quickly understood what had happened, so I was super lucky. The guy I choked out came to, and the cops cuffed him, then they started slapping the shit out of him! The guy they arrested ratted out his accomplice, and he was also arrested. Apparently, they were Chinese, and other than having to write a personal statement, nothing else came of it on my end. The only downside was the cop told everyone at the dojo, and I got crap for not using more judo during my fight with the burglars. Oh, I did take a couple fists to the face (minor cut and a swollen lip) and my ribs got bruised from getting hit with the bolt cutters, but I definitely got the better of that exchange. I’m pretty sure the additional beatings from the cops were attributed to me, but nothing adverse happened, and from what little I could understand, self-defense in that situation was adequate and justified. If I had used a weapon, that might have been over-the-top and illegal.
I have a pump-action shotgun for hunting in the house.
I have often thought about simply cocking it unloaded in front of a would-be burglar just to scare the shit out of them, but knowing Japan’s retarded laws, I would be the one ending up in trouble, even with no rounds loaded, not aiming at the burglar, and with no intention to pull the trigger.
You can give them a little kiss to startle them. For guidance, look up Ocelot vs Solid Snake, MGS4.
Here’s the thing, now that you’ve read all the replies on the legalities of the situation.
The person broke into your home. The are already a criminal. Sans evidence to the contrary, the victim’s word is gold, and the criminal’s word is shit. Speaking from personal experience here.
You: He tried to attack me so I drilled him.
Cops: He said you attacked him, unprovoked.
You: He’s an admitted criminal who breaks into people’s houses. Why would you believe what he says? He’ll say anything now that he’s caught. I’m the victim here.
Never change your story.
Then end.
I think the key thing here is entering your home. It would be really difficult for the person to explain in court what they were doing there. You saying you feared for your life is a legitimate reason to give someone a bloody nose.
Even if they weren’t carrying a weapon you could be beaten, suffocated, strangled to death and you wouldn’t know a stranger’s intentions.
I wonder does anyone know about who burglars target? I’ve heard from a few Japanese people who got burglarized. One mentioned his grandmas house getting hit after grandma died which must be something organized looking for a lot of elderly have but another was just a random young single guy
I wouldn’t punch or intentionally try to hurt someone in that situation. This is why jiujitsu is such a great martial art – it allows you to control and subdue someone in a threatening situation without having to strike once.
Worry about yourself first, and if it means hit first, then you hit first
It’s Japan. You politely cluck at each other for ten minutes who should hit whom first.
-Osakini douzo.
-Ie ie, kochira koso.
-Ie ie ie…
After knocking them out eventually, don’t forget to point with your finger at them lying on the floor and firmly say “yosh!” to confirm, otherwise it won’t count.
Hit them first and then just lie about it to the cops… say they hit you first. It’s just your word against theirs and, given that they have broken into your apartment, who’s going to believe them?
Record as much as possible on your phone. If you don’t, it’ll be your word against there’s.
In many countries, a burglar will seek to target a place that’s empty – the family are away on holiday, for example, or the single occupant is at work. They will aim not to spend much time on the burglary and avoid anything difficult or slow that might draw attention. Rather than bringing bolt cutters or picking locks, they’ll hope you’ve left a door or window open. Many times, it will be a spontaneous thing rather than a gang casing out a place.
Therefore, you’re probably better off investing in security than planning out how you’re going to incapacitate them. And locking your door.
Don’t take advice from reddit, LOL!
The cultural spectrum here is vastly different from police or courts.
My 2c: let the police do the polite punching instead.
This is an absolutely hilarious discussion from an American perspective.
This has nothing to do with NHK does it?s/
Out of curiosity, should we not act to cause unnecessary harm to the intruder, is it legal to restrain them using minimum force until the police arrive? (Blocking the door etc)
It’s okay. In Japanese law “盗犯等防止法” it’s recognized as justifiable self-defense to repel a burglar who breaks into your home. However, using a knife to stab or repeatedly hitting them with a shovel could be considered excessive defense, so it’s better to just punch or kick them instead.
I had a guy randomly attack me on the street in roppongi.
He was kinda weak so I grabbed his arms and laid on him until the cops came
5 hours later I was able to go home after giving them all the details
I asked them what if I hit back. They told me I would have been deported.
The guy was Japanese I’m American
The other guy wasn’t right in the head
This kind of question is a bit scary. And all of these responses saying yeah you have all right to attack without understanding exactly what your talking about is scary as hell too. What kind of house are we talking? Cause if it’s one of those homes with a larger genkan. People will come in and call for you to see if youre home if your front door is unlocked.
So I hope you aren’t waiting to pounce on that NHK rep in case he walks into your entrance area.