Viewing items with Tag: "police"

In a previous Blurb I mentioned the murder of British girl Lindsay Ann Hawker in Tokyo. This story is pretty common knowledge by now, but today Japan Today has released footage of Ichihashi, the prime suspect in the case. The footage itself is actually from before the murder, but is a clear enough image to try and raise public awareness.

This however is not the point I am writing about. In a related article, Akio Kuroki, a former police sergeant made crime journalist and book author has submitted an article detailing the incompetence of police in Japan, and the many cover-ups and dirty work that goes on. I'm not saying this is something only found in Japan, as its obviously apparent the world over, but its still an interesting read.

For example, the police claimed that Ichihashi was barefoot when he made his getaway. But one of the suspect’s shoes was found in the backyard of a nearby residence, and the same homeowner found the other shoe on the pavement 10 meters away. The police report is also contradicted by an eyewitness account. A neighbor heard someone yelling, “There he is!” and, when looking outside, believes it was the police struggling to catch Ichihashi.

So why have the police never mentioned these facts? Because if they acknowledged the truth, they would have to admit they twice failed to capture the suspect. And not only did the police fail to arrest Ichihashi, but their statement about him fleeing barefoot would be exposed as a lie.

In Japan, a foreign woman who goes missing for one day is, unfortunately, not enough to get the police moving.

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Before she was murdered, Hawker had reported to the police that she was being stalked, and she asked for their help. That’s the prime reason why the police began their investigation so soon after receiving a call from Hawker’s friend.

In a previous oldSushi Blurb I mentioned the ordeal of one Westerner who got himself in to some trouble (he threw a taxi driver on the ground then stole his phone... then went and told the Police about it...) and ended up in a Japanese prison.

Some good reading and some great reasons to be careful what you do while staying in Japan! Namely DONT HIT TAXI DRIVERS! Stippy.com is releasing the story in multiple parts, and I will keep as up-to-date with it as I can.

Part 1: "The Taxi Ride"
Part 2: "The Beginning"
Part 3: "Bad Cop, Good Cop"
Part 4: "Processing"
Part 5: "Manga and Routine"
Part 6: "The Guards"
Part 7: "The Driver"
Part 8: "Day 15"

This is a pretty sad story about a 22 year old girl from Coventry, UK who had only been in Japan for a few months teaching for Nova English school. She dissappeared after a house visit to one of her students, a 28 year old man, apartments in Chiba near Tokyo. She was found in the same apartment days later after her friends reported her missing, in a bathtub covered in sand.

Watching the video report below, its almost laughable the part where the BBC reporter goes:

"Detectives are hunting this man, Tatsuya Ishihashi. It was his flat in which the body was found. When police came here to talk to him, he ran away, and they lost him."

We lost him, Damnit! Oh well, lets go stop some REAL criminals without lights or bells on their bicycles!! ... enfuriating.

Watch the BBC short report below or the full story here.

4 Years in Japan, with 6 months in Kyoto city, I guess I was about ready to get randomly stopped by Police. I didn't however expect it to be in the middle of a bright sunny day with hundreds of passers by watching my questioning with delight. Still, thankfully it was a sunny day, and I was in a great mood.

Cycling along Shijo street I noticed ahead a stopped Police car with a policeman standing next to it. Nothing unusual, I smiled at the man and he smiled back, however he was also waving his hand motioning me towards him. My heart pace picked up a little, as it generally does in these situations.

Now I know this is pretty much common knowledge to everyone living in Japan or interested in Japan (particularly the Yakuza), but Ryoichi Sugiura, 43 years old and a very high ranking Yakuza member of Tokyo based Sumiyoshi-kai was shot and killed in his car in Tokyo by a rival Yakuza gang in broad daylight on Monday.

Apparently, however, a truce has already been announced after a string of shootings at doors and windows in which nobody was killed, or even harmed. This shooting at rival gangs doors and windows is "the trademark of underworld retaliation."(Japan Times)

Now I don't know about anywhere else in the world, but having your doors and windows shot out in some places in the States can be chalked up to "having a bad day." And in the world of gang warfare, its most likely considered "a terrible shot." Not that I'm saying the Yakuza is soft for announcing a truce after busting a couple of windows, but it just seems to me that a little destruction of private property and the life of a mob boss are not exactly comparable.

How boring would "Scarface" have been if gangs in America worked under the same principal? Or even, "The Princess Bride", not a "gang" movie at all, but certainly a lesson for all of us in proper retaliation...

My name is Anigo Montoya, you killed my father. Prepare to have your doors and windows destroyed.

Just doesn't have the same ring to it, does it? No, nothing quite raises the hairs on the back of the neck as well as "prepare to die."

Now, I'm not saying that I wish violence upon anyone, but like any good child of the 90s, raised on the likes of "Casino" and "Scarface", "Goodfellas" and the countless other gang flicks out there, I am fascinated by the promise of a good gang war. After all the newspapers were promising serious retaliation and the probability of Tokyo being riddled in gunfire reminiscent of NYC circa 1920, I've got to admit, I was pretty damned excited to see how it would all play out. Not that I'm complaining about peace, though. I'm sure somewhere, the peace loving hippies in all of us are rejoicing.

But just across the room from that celebrating hippy, there is proabably also a young kid, his face smeared in chocolate, gripping his plastic orange tipped tommy-gun, and sulking at the unfairness of the world, because all he wanted was to see a full scale Kill-Bill style Yakuza gang war, but he never gets his way. His retaliation? You guessed it. A baseball through the window.

A friend of Stippy.com wrote to the website with a report of his terrible experience being locked up in a Japanese prison. He was kept for more than three weeks with no charges, no contact with anybody apart from his non-English speaking lawyer... all for having one too many drinks on his Birthday Bash and having some problems with a taxi driver on his way home.

The 3-part article (of which 2 are availalble at time of writing this) goes on to explain his ordeal, starting with why it happened and then details of his experiences in the Japanese prison. A real eye-opener, and something that might keep me a bit more sensible the next time I head out on the town!

In Japan, suspects for any type of crime, can be held in a type of prison called a 留置場（りゅうちじょう, Ryuuchijyou）, under the “daiyo kangoku” (代用監獄) system of imprisonment without trial (the official political correct term for　”daiyo kangoku” by the way is “daiyo keiji shisetsu”（代用刑事施設）.

Prisoners can be held for interrogation for 23 days without charge, without being offered bail, and without proper legal representation.

Both Amnesty International and the UN Human Rights Committee have condemned the practice, which persuades many prisoners to confess to whatever they are accused of in the gruelling interrogation process.

Read the full article at Stippy.com: Part 1 - Part 2