[Tsuwabuki]

I use Japanese bath rules in my own home; I actually like those rules better, and I have never a) been refused entry into an onsen 3) never been told I have made any mistakes 3) lived in Korea where the public bath culture is similar 4) read a lot on the culture before arriving.

Really folks, this isn't rocket science.

When I do make mistakes, and I still do, it's usually with shoes. But I just apologise and remember not to do that particular thing again, even if I don't know why it's a "rule." Protip: sometimes the Japanese themselves don't know either!

I have never, ever, NOT ONCE seen or heard of a Japanese person being asked to produce ID for no other reason than because they might not be Japanese, especially if as a citizen, and they do not drive, and do not travel, they have no ID. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but I don't think we agree on the definition of "all the time." You are certainly free to comply if you want to give the police officer your ID, but what we're debating here is a legal right to refuse.

And, in America, no, the cops cannot nag you for hours if you refuse to show your ID. I could quote the case law, but what it comes down to is that the due process required by the 14th Amendment means that anything you say while being "nagged" is inadmissible in court if you've expressed your desire to leave, and the police refuse to let you but have not arrested you. It is illegal to detain a person without arresting them, and after arresting them, it is illegal to interrogate them without reading them their Miranda rights. Merely a "feeling of coercion and the feeling of loss of freedom" is enough to constitute being "detained." Which means if you try to get to your car to leave, and the cop steps in front of your car door and won't let you get in, you've just been illegally detained. In that case, after your name, the only thing you should say is "lawyer" and you keep repeating it until they arrest you, let you go, or your lawyer shows up.

Debito isn't a just legal resident of Japan, permanent or otherwise. He's a CITIZEN. This isn't about what rights you have as a non-citizen, non-national of a country. This entire discourse is about treating citizens differently under the law, which is wrong.