The Telegraph: Why is there no looting in Japan?

[Thoarite]

The treatment of Criminals is good reason for low crime in Japan. There is NO jury. There is no Miranda rule, and Japanese police and prosecutors can detain a suspect indefinately until he confesses. The 3 day detention rules are extended over and over 10 days at a time, and defense attorneys do not try to oppose them.
Even after interrogation the detention can continue and ONLY defense lawyers are allowed visits. Bail is denied as it interfears with interrogation. The confession rate in Japan is 96 percent. Since there is NO jury and the judges almost always defer to the prosecutors judgement, the trial conviction rates is 99.5 percent . Of those convictions 98 percent receive jail time. I ask you, would you try to steal in that kind of situation.

 

[Dale_M]

Japanese police and prosecutors can detain a suspect indefinately until he confesses. The 3 day detention rules are extended over and over 10 days at a time, and defense attorneys do not try to oppose them.
Even after interrogation the detention can continue and ONLY defense lawyers are allowed visits. Bail is denied as it interfears with interrogation. The confession rate in Japan is 96 percent. Since there is NO jury and the judges almost always defer to the prosecutors judgement, the trial conviction rates is 99.5 percent . Of those convictions 98 percent receive jail time. I ask you, would you try to steal in that kind of situation.

Steal? I would be afraid to live there

 

[kenofken]

The treatment of Criminals is good reason for low crime in Japan. There is NO jury. There is no Miranda rule, and Japanese police and prosecutors can detain a suspect indefinately until he confesses. The 3 day detention rules are extended over and over 10 days at a time, and defense attorneys do not try to oppose them.
Even after interrogation the detention can continue and ONLY defense lawyers are allowed visits. Bail is denied as it interfears with interrogation. The confession rate in Japan is 96 percent. Since there is NO jury and the judges almost always defer to the prosecutors judgement, the trial conviction rates is 99.5 percent . Of those convictions 98 percent receive jail time. I ask you, would you try to steal in that kind of situation.

Something about a strict judicial system as an explanation doesn’t add up: Japan imprisons about 63 out of every 100,000 people. In the U.S., we lock away more than 750 per 100,000, the highest rate, by far, in the world. If heavy law enforcement made for a good society, we shouldn’t even have to have doors on our houses here. Tough judicial proceedings don’t appear to be an easy answer either. Very few defendants in the U.S. get a jury trial or acquittal either. Most of them simply don’t have the resources to mount a decent trial defense and neither do the hopelessly overworked public defenders they rely on. They cop to whatever plea they think will get them the least time. Sometimes that puts dangerous people back on the street too soon. Sometimes it puts innocent guys in prison simply because they were too scared to risk lifelong sentences for heavier charges if they went to trial and lost.

Same with hard interrogations. If that’s all it took to keep the streets safe, most of the world ought to be crime free by now. In most places in the world, it’s perfectly acceptable or at least tolerated practice for police to beat the snot out of suspects during interrogations, or worse. It was fairly standard practice even in this country until quite recently, and it’s still not unheard of by any means. Usually all it does is sends guys away to prison for being ugly, unlucky and having a criminal record, and often lets the real killer or rapist run free.

 

[OrdinaryMelkite]

Steal? I would be afraid to live there

To be honest, me too.

 

[ishii]

Sorry. I just don’t deal with blanket statements.

Enough.

i.e. you have no answer…

 

[OrdinaryMelkite]

Perhaps the religion of Buddhism has teachings which leave a deep imprint on people as to the value of honesty.

Not totally.

I’m sure a lot of Yakuza consider themselves good Shintoists/Buddhists.

Like I said before--------in Japan the society comes first, the individual second. Also, they have a strong sense of public shame. Things such as looting would be considered publicly “dishonorable.”

By the way--------

How you doing, Sid?!!

Haven’t heard from you in a while.

 

[OrdinaryMelkite]

i.e. you have no answer…

Ouch!!!)

 

[ishii]

Now that we’ve set up Japan as a shining city on the hill of human virtue and altruism, let’s not forget that they’re people, not saints. That society has its share of deviancy, even if it doesn’t involve black guys stealing electronic goods from natural disaster zones. The Yakuza is a very powerful force in that society, a Fortune 500 entity in its own right and one which operates with a certain knowledge and consent of government. That means lots and lots of prostitution, money laundering, protection rackets, the works. Supposedly the government doesn’t go all out after them in exchange for running a regulated illegal drug market, and one largely limited to amphetamines and not heroin or cocaine.

This is a society which has very sizeable subculture of mother-son incest, semi-secret clubs that exhibit that sort of thing, and various other dark and intense sexual subcultures that I won’t even get into here. As I think someone mentioned earlier, there’s a LOT of suicides among teens and even younger kids. This is also a society which produced the Aum Shunrikyo cult, you remember, the dudes who created a military industrial complex of their own which produced high-grade nerve gas they used in a subway attack. This is also a place where “free enterprise” is about as free as in 1960s Eastern Block nations. A conglomerate of business and handful of corporate interests in each sector dictate every aspect of the economy.

Japan may well be a place where there’s little casual violence or public disorder type petty crime, they have their problems. There’s been a tendency on this thread to lionize the Japanese as sort of a samurai version of everything a conservative whitebread Christian dream republic should be. That only works if you don’t look too closely at reality…

That last sentence is nice, but a little overwrought. Of course Japan has its problems - suicide and nihilism being one of them. In the seven years I lived there I never once heard of some kind of mother-son incest subculture - what have you been reading? They have a somewhat perverted sexual subculture that is very degrading to women, and materialism reigns among many. While I was there “enjo-kosai” was a problem wherein teen girls would prostitute themselves to businessmen in exchange for money to buy expensive brand-named products. The Aum cult could have happened anywhere - such as in America with the Jim Jones Guyana deal. And don’t get me going on their education system. However, their culture, whatever else its problems, seems to be well suited to deal with the current crisis and that is something to admire them for.

Ishii

 

[ishii]

Steal? I would be afraid to live there

I came close to spending the rest of my life there and the only thing that I was ever afraid of was…nothing. If you’re a criminal, there would be a lot to be afraid of.

Ishii

 

[OrdinaryMelkite]

I came close to spending the rest of my life there and the only thing that I was ever afraid of was…nothing. If you’re a criminal, there would be a lot to be afraid of.

Ishii

Even I would admit, though—if you’re innocent but the evidence points to you, it would be very hard to deal with certain things there.

 

[meltzerboy]

Now that we’ve set up Japan as a shining city on the hill of human virtue and altruism, let’s not forget that they’re people, not saints. That society has its share of deviancy, even if it doesn’t involve black guys stealing electronic goods from natural disaster zones. The Yakuza is a very powerful force in that society, a Fortune 500 entity in its own right and one which operates with a certain knowledge and consent of government. That means lots and lots of prostitution, money laundering, protection rackets, the works. Supposedly the government doesn’t go all out after them in exchange for running a regulated illegal drug market, and one largely limited to amphetamines and not heroin or cocaine.

This is a society which has very sizeable subculture of mother-son incest, semi-secret clubs that exhibit that sort of thing, and various other dark and intense sexual subcultures that I won’t even get into here. As I think someone mentioned earlier, there’s a LOT of suicides among teens and even younger kids. This is also a society which produced the Aum Shunrikyo cult, you remember, the dudes who created a military industrial complex of their own which produced high-grade nerve gas they used in a subway attack. This is also a place where “free enterprise” is about as free as in 1960s Eastern Block nations. A conglomerate of business and handful of corporate interests in each sector dictate every aspect of the economy.

Japan may well be a place where there’s little casual violence or public disorder type petty crime, they have their problems. There’s been a tendency on this thread to lionize the Japanese as sort of a samurai version of everything a conservative whitebread Christian dream republic should be. That only works if you don’t look too closely at reality…

There’s a lot of suicides among teens due to failure to be admitted to colleges and universities. They literally jump off buildings if they are rejected. It’s partially their sense of personal disappointment, but more than that, the feeling of shame they have brought to their family. The collective spirit sometimes has a downside.

 

[GratefulDad]

I don’t know if that is accurate. There are ethnic minorities in Japan who protest, including Koreans and Okinawans. America’s history of ethnic minorities is closer to the legal apartheid in South Africa than to the noblesse oblige in Japan, hence fewer and more restrained protests there. So comparisons between minorities in the US and Japan just are not reasonable at all.

As I said, the looting issue is just an excuse by some I have seen on other boards and in some publications to do a little race-baiting. I do not refer to this forum – save your complaints.

1. Geez, I am not sure why you are so defensive about this?
2. Why have you not stated strongly in this thread and commended the looting in New Orleans, surly you are against taking other peoples property, even if it is from the very rich?

 

[Stylteralmaldo]

…Of course Japan has its problems - suicide and nihilism…However, their culture, whatever else its problems, seems to be well suited to deal with the current crisis and that is something to admire them for…

My fear is that the Japanese culture’s suicidal tendencies will surface if this disaster continues to drag on for an extended period of time. Let’s pray that it does not come to that.

 

[davy39]

Because they don’t have any community organizers whipping the people up into a frenzy.

Hey, we’ve got a few they can have if they want one… LOL

 

[Dale_M]

I came close to spending the rest of my life there and the only thing that I was ever afraid of was…nothing. If you’re a criminal, there would be a lot to be afraid of.

Well, you know from experience what Japan is like. I know, not from experience but from the news, that in the US the police sometimes force innocent people to confess to crimes they didn’t commit. For example,
courthousenews.com/2011/03/17/34993.htm

I would be leery of allowing police to detain suspects indefinitely, and be given carte blanche treatment of prisoners… especially if it results in a near total confession and conviction rate.

But Japan is not the US, as the behavior in the wake of the tsunami shows.

 

[dimittuntur]

My fear is that the Japanese culture’s suicidal tendencies will surface if this disaster continues to drag on for an extended period of time. Let’s pray that it does not come to that.

Quite contrary, the “gaman” mentality of the Japanese will trump any notion of suicide. I am quite confident that the people will rise above this. That said, I would expect some government or power plant officials to commit suicide rather than face the shame of their response to this incident.

 

[sidbrown]

Not totally.

I’m sure a lot of Yakuza consider themselves good Shintoists/Buddhists.
.

Right. Generally, in practice there is some sort of union between Shintoism and Buddhism even though shinbutsu shūgō officially ended with the Shinto and Buddhism Separation Order of 1886. Although most Japanese claim that they do not profess any particular religion, still, can it be said that Buddhism and Shintoism have left some sort of an imprint on their culture. At the same time, a very large majority of Japanese funerals take place according to the Buddhist tradition.
BTW, thanks for the greeting. I hope all is well.

 

[LtTony]

Knowing the culture and language of both countries, I can sum it up like this:

In America, we value the individual to a fault. In Japan, they value the group to a fault. Both at the cost of the other.

I love my country and I love Japan, but both are far from perfect. Both could learn much from the other.

Very true, imo. Excellent observation.

 

[Monte_RCMS]

Maybe because all of the hysteria existed only among Western reporters.

Read this list of hysterical and false reporting examples:

[scroll down thru the intro and explanatory stuff]

jpquake.wikispaces.com/Journalist+Wall+of+Shame