The Tokyo Bar Association has announced through reporters today (Monday) that due to vast complaints of racial profiling against the foreign detainees by the Japanese police, they will look into how people are getting stopped and interrogated. Majority of the complaints refer to the harsh interrogation that foreigners have to face just because of being foreigner.
“We have good reasons to believe that police officers frequently racially profile people of foreign origin,” Junko Hayashi stated in the Foreign Correspondents’ Association of Japan. “We need more solid data regarding this issue.” They plan to study the topic more through a survey that will begin from the second week of January next year.
The issue came to the highlight recently after a video got released into the media showing brutal misbehaving Japanese police against a detainee in the interrogation room. Another case is in ongoing against a detention agency agency after a Sri Lankan women died while being there.
The official account of US embassy in Japan also noticed of such issues as released a tweet mentioning that they’ve received information of racial profiling of Japanese police. They also urge US citizens in Japan to carry their immigration documents and be aware.
In response to questions the Chief Secretary of the Cabinet Hirokazu Matsuno told a press meeting in December. 6. Japanese police are able to question suspects according to the law, for instance when they have a reasonable reason to believe that someone has committed an offense, and that interrogation is not conducted in accordance with the nationality or race. Hayashi said that the group was forced to act since “the chief Cabinet secretary does not seem willing to investigate.”
Source: Kyodo
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