A Policed State

Yesterday I was standing in Nagoya station waiting for a friend to arrive. I was waiting in one of the most popular places for people to wait at Nagoya Station. The place is called the Clock Tower, it is named this for obvious reasons. I was waiting along side many other people who were waiting for loved ones, business associates, colleagues and class mates. The difference with my case is that I was the only none Japanese person standing among perhaps 300 to 400 people. Yes that’s right I was the minority.

Three of Nagoya’s finest (cops) came up to me and started questioning me on why I am standing here, am I traveling, do I live here and demanding to see my ID. (外国人登録証明書) or CERTIFICATE OF ALIEN REGISTRATION, what we foreigners lovingly refer to as the [GAIJIN CARD]. These bulletproof uneducated flat headed flat-foots held and question me for 10 minutes. I demanded to know why they were stopping me, I was told that they are looking for terrorists because the station is very susceptible to attack. I asked why they are not stopping and questioning Japanese, in that case. The answer was that Japanese are not terrorists. I told them that this is (人種差別) [RACISM]. I said that they are very rude, racist and this should not be tolerated. The entire conversation was in Japanese as they were incapable of even uttering the most basic English sound. Despite the fact that English is Japan’s national second language and there is at least one English school on every corner in any city throughout Japan. More surprisingly, all Japanese children learn English through out JR. high school & high school.

Many people were standing around watching and wondering what was going on I was very humiliated and some what nervous. The cops in Saitama arrested a Japanese woman because she did not look Japanese enough. The woman is a Japanese national (full blooded), she just happened to look Philippine in the eyes of the cops, so when she didn’t produce a passport or a gaijin card the cops arrested her and held for 24 hours with no phone call, no nothing, eventually the woman’s mother contacted the local police box wondering if anyone had seen her daughter, at that point the cops realized that they had mad mistake.

I didn’t know what was going to happen or what they would do, and as I said earlier, most Japanese don’t think very far ahead, they simply do what the government and big business tell them to do or think. So of course no one was there to help me and I am sure that I must have looked like Osama’s long lost cousin to the half-wits standing around and gawking. I was finally released and let go with a pat on the back as people stood around and watched.

Well no once says cops are smart.