/ Cory Doctorow / 10:40 pm Wed Jul 1, 2009

Japanese cops hassling foreigners on the street for urine drug tests

Francisco sez, "Few weeks ago Japan Police started to take random drug tests to foreigners on the streets of Shibuya and Roppongi. Basically from what report on several online sources 99.9% of tests are done to foreigners not Japanese people."
Hello I've been in japan about a year now, and live near roppongi. In the past couple of weeks, police have been stopping late night/early morning revellers when they are leaving bars and clubs, and asking them to provide urine samples. Essentially they are testing for drug use/abuse. Whilst i have nothing to hide, i cant help but think this is an invasion of my personal liberty/human rights. It also concerns me that things are quite easily added to drinks without people knowing much about it. its not much surprise, that out of the 40 or 50 that i saw being pulled on fri night, all bar one were gaijin. I just wondered if they are within their rights to be doing this? thanks...

It's confirmed. Called Asabu Police Station today (03-3479-0110(代表)) in Roppongi and talked to an officer Teshima. He admitted that yes, they are carrying out urine tests on people. He denied that they were targeting foreigners, but he refused to divulge what sort of criteria they use to select their testees. Separate blog entry on this by midnight tonight. Arudou Debito

Tokyo police raiding Roppongi, stopping NJ on Tokyo streets for urine tests (UPDATED) (Thanks, Francesco!)

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  3. There is almost no reliable information available about only foreigners being targeted.

    The cops allegedly conducted the tests by waiting outside of bars in Roppongi, an area known for drug use. The US State Department recently issued a warning about Roppongi:

    Concerns Regarding Roppongi, Tokyo: The majority of crimes reported by Americans in Tokyo have occurred in Roppongi, an entertainment district that caters to foreign clientele. Incidents involving U.S. citizens since spring 2004 include murder, assault, overdoses on heroin allegedly purchased in Roppongi, theft of purses and wallets at bars or clubs, and drugs allegedly slipped into drinks. Several Americans have also reported being charged exorbitantly in bar tabs in some bars and clubs in Roppongi. A number of Americans have also been arrested over the past year in Roppongi for various offenses. Please be aware that Roppongi has also been the scene of violence between criminal syndicates. Americans are urged to keep these incidents in mind and exercise caution should they choose to visit Roppongi.

    http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1148.html

  5. Well, this pretty much confirms what I’ve been suspecting for a while.

    Cops worldwide have gone from being occasionally douchey, to just being utter douches. It’s been the decade the world’s faith in the police really sorta died.

  6. Oh, another travesty in Japan courtesy of ‘Arudou Debito’.

    Cory, please put ‘Debito’ tags on stories from his site.

    Among some of us expats, you might call him a wanker. The guy goes out of his way to make trouble and has been at it for years.

    Most J-expats ignore him.

  8. Or you might actually think that Debito is really standing up and fighting for what he thinks is right – which is a wonderful thing.
    Whether you agree with Debito is your thing, and there is no reason to insult someone just because you don’t agree – that says a lot more about you than about him, actually.

  9. As a 20 year ex-pat in Japan, I’d like to weigh in. I know David – Debito – from Language Conferences and he’s one of the leaders in the human rights for gaijin movement in Japan. Yes, he does sometimes go a bit overboard. But he’s one of the few gaijin brave enough to attack the moribund system here. His Black list and Green list of universities should be required reading before applying for a job.

    About a month ago I made the mistake of trying to go shopping in Akihabara near the 1 year anniversary of the crazy attack there, and was immediately targeted by cops, and spent a few hours in a back room at the police station before I talked my way out… in Japanese. Don’t get picked up if you can’t speak the lingo or you’re shit outta luck. They confiscated my Leatherman and a Surefire flashlight as ‘illegal’, and I’m sure glad they didn’t make me piss in a cup.

    And, no, most J-expats don’t ignore him, just the ignorant and complacent ones. He’s the official Gaijin gadfly over here, and hats off to him for bucking the system.

  10. @Drunken Economist

    I’m not intersted in Debito’s “gaijin complex” but I’m puzzled why you ignore this story since it popped up in several expats forum…

    or you mean it’s a fake story and no one have been checked?

    or better you think the % of checks is 95% of Japanese people and 5% foreigner (I suppose a balanced policy would be like this, since foreigners are less than 5% of Japanese population)?

  11. IIRC they can demand urine samples in Dubai and Sweden, as well: but I’m not sure that it’s a “at the whim of the Officer”, at least in Sweden.

    And just because you’re used to it, does not mean that (pre-)employment urine testing is not creepy and wrong 95% of the time it’s used in the USA. Are they still checking urine prior to hiring greeters at Wal-Mart?

  13. I live in Tokyo. If a cop on the street asked me for a urine sample, I would say, “No, you cannot have a urine sample. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a train to catch.” End of story.

  14. I’m curious what sort of drugs young people in Shibuya and Roppongi might be consuming.

    Does anybody here know?

    What are the illicit substances that help fuel the club scene in Tokyo?

  15. @ Adam

    I would imagine that what they’d be doing spot urine tests outside of clubs for would be amphetamines (speed and ecstasy), as well as cocaine. Cannabis would probably not be tested for, for a few reasons: first, marijuana is traditionally not known as a club or nightlife-type drug, unlike say ecstasy. Second, the penalties for getting caught with marijuana are somewhat excessive (see Paul McCartney in Japan), and as a result cannabis use is less common there than in most other countries.
    Amphetamine use is pretty high in that country, in part due to the extreme diligence of many Japanese high school students, who use it for studying purposes. Not too sure about ecstasy there, though.
    As far as cocaine, most of the problems I’ve heard about come from Americans and other expats living in the country. In that case, it actually makes sense that they would be targeting gaijin.
    I’m not too sure about cocaine use in Japan (google turned up mostly stories about Americans getting caught with it there)

  16. Stories like this are great for showing to rabid japanophiles and observing their reactions.

    Cognitive dissonance at the push of a button.

  17. @Ugly Cannuck

    Dubai is hardly a great example of civil liberties and Sweden despite appearances has slowly been morphing into a suburban 1984 since…well 1984.

    This story is not unique. Japanese society has been at heart fascist and xenophobic for a long time. They have a long history of nationalism and war crimes that have never been fully addressed. They are decimating the blue fin tuna stock and wiping out endangered species of whales, and don’t get me started on the dolphins.

    I’m Icelandic myself and we get threatened with embargos and Greenpeace actions constantly for fishing practices far more responsible than that (although there is definite room for improvement). And the overwhelming majority of us welcome visitors and new additions to our society and actively resisted the fascist influence during WWII.

    Sorry about the rant. It’s just that I don’t get it why Japan consistently gets away with this with its image intact.
    Why would anyone want to go there as a tourist, let alone live there? Why are expats so quick to defend their behavior?

  18. Also, in Japan pot seeds are a cooking ingredient, so there is a legitimate reason to test positive on a urine test. I think there is even a famous restaurant with a theme using of marijuana seeds in cooking.

  19. A friend of mine spent a year working in Japan. She told me that just before the Olympic torch came through town, Japanese cops came to her apt. to make sure she wasn’t a terrorist. They basically visited and interrogated any foreigner living in the area. It was especially ridiculous since she was there as part of a program run by the Japanese government.

  20. I wonder if the head shops in Roppongi are still there. I knew of some professional, white collar expats that smoked marijuana. One of which was married to a Japanese citizen. Marijuana has probably gotten too popular and the police are trying to nip it in the bud. I think if you’re a foreigner and get caught that means a year in jail and then deportation. Not good.

    Foreigners in Japan have always been marginalized. The police probably wouldn’t get away with harassing the natives, so they’re going after the gaijin, their favorite scapegoats.

  21. Is testing positive for an illicit substance a crime in Japan? Especially in the case of foreigners, shouldn’t they have to prove that the substance was actually consumed while in Japan? Perhaps that would be easy for substances with a short half-life such as cocaine, but for something like marijuana it could be quite tricky to prove that it was consumed in Japan and not elsewhere.

  22. Japans government is a scary beast, and the only reason why I’m not there right now. The US government is a scary beast as well, but it’s the evil i know vs the evil i dont know. At least here i can be confident of what my rights are (or should be) since it’s all written in english.

    As bustmastadma asked, is it a crime to test positive in japan?

  23. man what a load of ‘Thar be dragons’ in this thread.

    Cannabis hemp was grown extensively in the past in Japan, and is still considered sacred by the Shinto religion – the large twists of rope adorning the front of many temples are 100% hemp as are the stubby curtains which brush your head. The Japanese Royal family has its own hemp fields, from which they have ritual clothing and paraphernalia made. Most Japanese don’t know cannabis hemp plants and marijuana come from the same origin. Hence why it is entirely acceptable to use cannabis seeds in food seasoning, yet possessing any quantity of marijuana, no matter how small, will earn you 5 years in prison.

    The hard line nature of policing is thanks to the new constitution drafted by MacArthur in 1948, which introduced Taima Torishimari Ho (the Cannabis Control Act). Though this was probably intended to have political ramifications by directly limiting the power of Shinto and thus the emperor.

    As for stopping foreigners – the police are under pressure to show the Japanese public that they are doing something to stem the apparent tidal wave of famous cannabis users, I could quite believe this would translate into ‘security theatre’ as described. Given the short but intense nature of panics in Japan, things will have petered out in 6 months time.

    As for what happens if you test positive – it really doesn’t matter if you are guilty of anything or not under the Japanese legal system, it depends on the Police saying you did something. They rely pretty much exclusively on written confessions of guilt. Given that they can hold you for 3 days without any charge and apply for 10 day extensions on the basis of your ‘willingness to help their inquiries’, all of which is done without access to a lawyer or any other outside contact, they have a very high success rate at obtaining confessions.

    As far as the impact on your life in Japan, if you were Japanese just being arrested would mean social ruin – costing you your job and friends.

  24. Sweden
    Thailand
    Japan
    Dubai

    Did I forget to mention any countries where the cops seem to have a bizarre urine fetish.

  25. Ok, I’ll chime in- this is personal.

    #6 (Drunken Economist)- Do you even KNOW how much Debito has actually done for the foreign community’s rights in Japan? I’m guessing not. Debito is one of only a few people in Japan that actually influences for better foreigner’s rights. Because while many Japanese AREN’T xenophobic, quite the contrary, many major players/politicians there ARE.
    He does sometimes get a bit to carried away, but by and all, he’s a huge asset to the foreign community in Japan, and one of the few people who have actually explained to Japanese the foreign views on civil & personal rights of individuals as affected in Japan.

    #9- Thank you. I haven’t met him myself, but I lived in Sapporo the last couple years (home in Pittsburgh now)- and a lot of local rights issues there I know were personally set straight by Debito (ie: no foreigners signs in establishments taken down all over Susukino & Tanukikouji).

    #23- BIG props. Listen to this guy- he knows what he’s talking about. Hemp was traditionally and still is used by many traditional elements in Japan, long before McArthur arrived- after him, the whole “pot smoking” thing as a prevalence started, as best most experts can tell.

    Anyone who’s been to a Japanese mall has always found that one store that’s like Spencers, there’s always one of them. And another, always selling Indian/African/Jamaican stuff, like instruments, rugs, beads, incense. There’s always pot merchandise all through them, even little ashtrays of dreaded Jamaican guys smoking blunts and carrying a watermellon. Also see any Don Quihote store in Japan. Pot leaf air fresheners. The list goes on.

    Pot leaves are a design everywhere, but almost no Japanese I’ve asked knew what it meant. When you explain to them what it means in the west/what the leaf comes from, they stare at you in disbelief. Yet everyone from adults to schoolkids has something with the leaf on it, it’s seen as “trendy”.

    The royal hemp fields is new knowledge for me, but it would make sense. Shinto uses hemp for the shimenawa holy ropes that are placed above shrines/around holy objects like large trees & rocks.

    So pot, as a symbol in Japan, has 2 sides- it’s iconography is everywhere, even in old vestiges (ever see the traditional pattern of connected, radiating diamonds? That’s patterned after the leaf too!), but almost no one realizes that the modern leaf you see is a counterculture symbol of the very drug demonized in Japanese media. Most Japanese couldn’t identify pot buds or the smell if they saw them with their owns eyes or nose.

    Figure that one out!

  27. Wow – following some of the links in this story, it seems the police are becoming increasingly hostile to foreigners. I was thinking of taking a vacation to Japan, but now I am thinking twice.

  28. Why would anyone want to go there as a tourist, let alone live there? Why are expats so quick to defend their behavior?

    American ex-pats are a unique breed. They tolerate horrible descrimination for the singular reason that they are likely exactly where they want to be. A lot of immigrants are probably better described as refugees. They might not be officially refugees, but they would likely prefer to be home but are where they are because where they are offers vastly more fiscal opportunities. An American ex-pat in Japan isn’t out to make a buck. He is probably losing money on the deal compared to what he could be doing in the US. He is there fulfilling some other need.

    The difference between being treated poorly in a place you don’t want to be and being treated poorly in a place you don’t have to be is pretty stark. Hence, a third or second generation Korean living in Japan and scrapping by with a crappy job can have an entirely more miserable outlook on descrimination than an ex-pat American kicking it for shits and giggles and likely mildly bemused at the novelty of being an object of descrimination.

  29. @Rindan
    I can agree with your statement but I wouldn’t include the whole American ex-pat in the mix. A very good majority yes.

    I don’t like the rules but I’ve got to deal with them. Fortunately, I haven’t had a bad dealing with the poli yet but who knows what shall happen…

  32. @drunken economist

    Debito is a good guy. I’ve met him and interviewed him twice. He works many hours on human rights issues and doesn’t get any compensation in return. He helps people all the time who’ve been unfairly screwed over by the Japanese system, people he doesn’t know but still helps out. He even gets death threats.

    Debito’s not perfect though. There’s some truth in a lot (but not all) of the criticism against him. But in my view whatever faults he has and mistakes he makes are vastly outweighed by the good he does. Just my two yen.

  33. a couple of my jn friends said they did 90 days for pot.

    the j-cops can hold you for 10 and then another 10 without charges…

  34. Sometimes it isn’t so bad living in a town 5 years behind Tokyo. Osaka cops barely know the difference between hemp leaves and maple leaves… or if they do they don’t seem to care.

    As for Debito critics, sure, he’s outspoken – but the guys alone on the frontlines of a battle that you (if you’re an expat) probably should give a shit about.

  35. As for Debito, he is one of the few voices of reason that show up in the Japan Times opinion and editorial pages. He is a refreshing contrast to the writers that basically (and sometimes explicitly) say that the Japanese people have a right to be racist.
    As for the police, and law enforcement matters, it’s 30 days or confession. You can refuse a urine check, questioning, or bag/belongings search but then you’re guilty of obstructing a police officer in his duties, at which point you’re eligible for the 30 day plan.
    As for the general feeling, I’ve never had a problem with the police down here in the Osaka-Kobe area, I obey the laws and they mind their business. That being said, over the past year there has been a definite and shocking increase in the anti-foreigner sentiment among the national government, prefectural government, and general public. Whatever though, I’m leaving in a month.

  36. I’m American, been in Japan 12 years, been stopped and questioned exactly once and oddly enough I was in business clothes at the time. I’ve come to believe that the key to avoiding stop and search is just to look invisible the same as most locals do.

    As for the cops, most Americans seem to make the easy to understand mistake of assuming that cops here have some kind of “protect and serve” mission like back home. The first few years I’d try and report problems to the local koban only to be told to call the police. Calling the police would result in being told to go to the local koban. Never did manage to get a report filed. Their desire not to do paperwork was stronger than my desire to get petty crime reduced in my old neighborhood.

    As for excessive reaction, street hassles by cops, etc. its hardly confined to foreigners. A local dread friend of mine got stopped, cops wanted to search his car, eventually 30 officers showed up on the scene. All that for one little man who is five foot tall on his tippy toes and couldnt fight his way out of a wet paper bag. I’ve seen similar over show of force several times before. There are speed trap days, but they are announced in advance, time and place. These hassles are security theater but always have been. Its the Japanese way to be seen doing something.

    And Deibito? Well I’m not sure, but even a broken clock is right four times a day.

  37. Good to see Debito Aroudo is still kicking against the pricks. A decade ago when I was in Hokkaido, he single handedly made every onsen in Otaru take down their “no gaijin” signs, they had put up because of the bad behaviour of visiting Russians. He is formidable and unrepentant.

    He is an annoying pain in the arse in person, but any gaijin who considers Japan as more than a drunken pitstop should listen to what he has to say.

  38. i’m a foreigner living in osaka. a few weeks back i was sitting on a bench (sunday at about midnight) when 2 plain clothed cops flashed their badges and asked for my ID. i told them it was at home, and that’s when all the questions started… “what’s your job, what’re you doing in this area, can we check your pockets?”. i didn’t argue with them cause i knew the area i was in was known for gaijin selling drugs, and carrying weapons, not to mention i was sitting in front of a yakuza bosses business. i was skeptical about letting them check me on the street though, so i had them take me to the koban 1 block away. once inside i emptied my pockets… keitai, yen, hand towel. they patted me down and were satisfied that i was clean as far as my posessions were concerned. i called my wife (japanese) using my keitai and gave the phone to the cop. the 2 of them talked for about 3 minutes and i was let go. the whole situation would’ve been avoided if i had my ID on me and if i hadn’t been in the wrong place at the wrong time. turns out it’s against the law for foreigners to leave their residence without proper id… so i always roll with mine now. also, the cop told my wife that i was stopped because i was gaijin, and in a known drug area where gaijin who reside illegally without a residency status live and hustle… so ya, they target gaijin and randomly perform document inspections. bottom line, this is japan, NOT america. if you’re worried about your civil rights and ammendments here, you need to go back to america. those things just don’t exist over here and if you break the law and you don’t know the right people, ya you’re gonna get the shaft and then sent home when they’re finished with you. when in rome do as the romans. multiply that by 8,000x when in nippon.

  40. I’m a white, 21 year old male, who was in japan for the past six weeks studying. I got back to California 2 days ago. I was stopped 3 times during my stay. Once was at Shinjuku station as I was trying to find an exit. The other 2 times was at the airport as I was waiting for my flight to come. I normally didn’t carry my passport with me unless I planned on going to a club or buying alcohol, but luckily I had it that day for some reason. I wonder what would have happened if i didnt. At the airport they wrote all my information down, but at Shinjuku he just looked at the dates.

  43. Here’s a YouTube video showing a prime example of the incompetence of the Japanese police. A guy riding a bicycle gets stopped by a police officer for no reason, which happens a lot in Japan. As the officer is asking him questions (which the guy is under no obligation to answer), we can hear an obvious traffic accident take place in the background just at the corner, and both the police officer and the bicyclist hear it. A reasonable police officer would realize that that was a traffic accident and that people may be injured and need first aid, etc. But no, this cop continues to question the bicyclist as if nothing happened. At 0:25 into the video he even denies that it was a traffic accident. After the bicyclist convinces him to do so, he notifies dispatch of the traffic accident, and then continues to question the bicyclist rather than tending to the possibly injured! This cop neglected to tend to a possibly serious and fatal traffic accident, all so he can perform 職務質問 (voluntary questioning) on a bicyclist!

    The 7-11 store where it happened in front of is located at 東京都世田谷区代田3-41-8
    The road where it happened is 環状七号線 and the intersection where the accident occurred is 宮前橋交差点
    Either the Setagaya or the Kitazawa police station have jurisdiction over that location.

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