Is it illegal to call and pretend to be the police in Japan?

17 comments

1. Yea totally illegal

2. Where the hell would that not be illegal

3. Obviously

4. Impersonating a J-Mod is against the rules, oh er, I mean police

5. I’m curious – Is there a way to verify if someone is a cop or not?

6. Illegal bicycle parking is generally a municipal issue. The police don’t care about it because they are prefectural.

7. [deleted]

8. As always, it’s illegal and object of social attention if it’s done by a foreigner

9. A few things.

   1) It could very well be that you shouldn’t be leaving your bicycles around his dentistry. Your company has asked you all to not do that any more. It’s likely that the company don’t really care if that was “the real police” or not, it’s caused and issue and it’s easy to fix – don’t leave bicycles there.

   2) You have no proof that it was the dentist. Also, which police did you contact about it? It could be that you contacted a koban but it was dealt with by the central station for the area, things are not quite as linked as you might think.

   3) Why are you taking this so personal? I can almost guarentee that if you pursue this it will end VERY badly for you. It’s up to the company on how they handle the situation, making yourself into a rouge employee out for personal justice will do you absolutely no favours and will likely ruin your experience at the job.

   4) Just move the bicycles, it’s really not a big issue

10. I think its illegal in everyplace hahahahah

11. You know OP’s life is good when they’re this worked up and asking suing for defamation / impersonating a police officer over bicycle parking threats.

12. Start recording all phone calls to your office.

    If the guy calls again, get a name, identification info, anything on record to make it clear he’s lying, and of course any other info that can undeniably identify who he really is.

    The cops *might* react more helpfully if you had some actual proof rather than word of mouth.

13. The short answer is: you can try, but it is unlikely that he will get into trouble this time.

    Disclaimer: This is not legal advice.

    Impersonating a police officer alone is covered under Article 1, Item 15 (Impersonation of an Official) of the Minor Offenses Act (loosely translated).

    The crucial factor is how this impersonation is used and what actions were taken while impersonating. My former professor used to say that the illegality and severity of impersonating an official are determined by the purpose behind the act.

    In your situation, if you ever consult a lawyer specialized in the Japanese Penal Code, they will take into consideration ‘why the impersonation of a police officer was carried out.’

    However, before you try to get the guy into trouble, he may sue you, possibly for defamation, if you don’t gather any solid evidence to support your case. Also, let your company handle your case. They will handle it accordingly. So, watch the heat, stay hydrated, be careful of heatstroke, and just focus on your job. Don’t stress yourself too much over this case, even if you are right.

14. It is illegal. However, if he is right about the parking thing (meaning your company/the employees are parking illegally) , I wouldn’t push it too much, as it could come and bite you in the behind.

15. Is it illegal to impersonate an officer of the law and manipulate people? Yeah I would say so and I think most if not all countries find it quite illegal.

16. Is it your company? If not, why are you going so extra for them? Let them handle it

17. Before I read the post and only the title, I was hoping you were asking how to get away with this and I really wanted to know your crazy plan..