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Originally Posted by Tsuwabuki
Is 職務質問 conducted for the sole purpose of determining someone's immigration status?
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No. They don't have any predefined target for 職務質問. Most often it is done to catch thieves and pushers, but it really can be any reason, and they might not even have a clear target.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tsuwabuki
that is seriously interfering in the rights of citizens to be free of harassment from a government which is supposed to proceed from then, which is also wrong.
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I don't think it is "seriously" interfering the citizen's rights in most cases, as there is a Japanese style fine line, and showing ID can be easily mandated by law like many countries do, but I agree, I think it is interfering the citizen's rights, serious or not. That's why I said I hate the 職務質問 law. At the same time, they are arresting 12,000 criminals a year with 職務質問 and it has some degree of support from Japanese citizens.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tsuwabuki
what happens if you actually do simply refuse to show ID and walk away?
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It depends on how you walk away. You can't look suspicious. You can't push the cops. but if you reason with them calmly, you can probably get away with it. Debito sounded pretty aggressive but he still got a way. Even if you purposely agitate them and cuss them like this guy,
YouTube - 東京足立区千住警察署警察官の職質強要
You can still get away if you do it right.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tsuwabuki
how can the police ask you questions "for hours?" What are they going to do, follow you to the grocery store, the laundromat, your place of work, outside your apartment, on your dates with your girlfriend...?
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The PC answer is yes, exactly what you said, they can only follow you. In the real life with the real cops though, they will most likely call a bunch of guys like the video above, and "lightly" block your way. It's like the defense in a basket ball game. So if you know how to play the game, you might only waste 15 min or so. But if you don't, they can be really persistent. "hours" may be an exaggeration, but I know a case which lasted for an hour and a half.
Really, 職務質問 is a subject of big debate in Japan. Even a former top of the law enforcement of all Japan, a cabinet member, got a pretty forcible 職務質問 and made a big stickler about it. I know 漢字 is hard for you but if you care, try reading his site and it will pretty much sum up the whole situation.
http://www.liberal-shirakawa.net/idea/policestate.html
It's OK you think how Japan's cops do their job is hilarious, and may be it is. But I see a lot of not so hilarious things in the US law system like a girl getting punched in the face by a cop, innocent black guys killed with dozens of bullets, and the Arizona's immigration law. I'm not saying which system is better or anything, it's just different countries have different social systems and different problems, and judging them with only the information from one side is generally a bad idea.
Now, whether or not Debito "made" you think this way, you took his video as 外国人差別 and I think he presented it in the way most English speakers would think it was. While I don't expect you to know all these niceties about Japanese social system, I definitely expect it from a Japanese professor.