What Is Going On In This Place?

[Solong]

I guess this sort of violence, caused by what surely must be some form of pure insanity, is found everywhere, including Japan. There is also quite a lot of domestic violence in Japan, often said to be way under reported. And, of course, violence against one's self (i.e., suicide) is more common in Japan than in most other countries. More "ordinary" criminal assault, such as that associated with robberies, is the category of violence which is most suppressed in Japan.

-Ww

From what I've seen in the many years here, cops are really good at street crime. That's because instead of big precincts and patrolling in cars, they setup little kobans in neighbors, and then go out and learn who is in that neighbor. Think about it. If somebody is dealing drugs on the street corner, somebody knows who that person is. In Japan, they find out and go to his house. The Japanese also have extraordinary powers to arrest and jail anybody that other cops, in other countries don't. The cops here can grab you off the street, hold, and question you for 10 days without a lawyer. There are also no guns everywhere, so none of the violent gun death insanity.

However, "quiet indoor" crimes like domestic violence or rape are highly under reported because of the shame and stigma attached to it. Japan has a lot more than reported, so this can give a false sense of safety. Same for blackmailing, and other crimes not usually seen on the street. When it happens, people are more likely to be too embarrassed and reporting appears to just add to the humiliation.

Despite this, Japan is still safer than most other places. Nowhere is perfect.

 

[DJV]

Really now. They have given you such niceties as the Boston Bombers, Anwar Al-Awlaki, Adam Yahive Gadahn, Mohammed Osman Mamood the Oregon Jihad bomber, or the NY Times Square bomber, just to pick a few at random. And the Muslim Brotherhood front organization "CAIR" works steadily to make American laws more Shariah-compliant. And now, you are looking at amazing view of having American Al Quaeda fighters joing the so-called "rebels" in Syria.

It is really naive to believe that one can ignore the islamic ideology when talking about islam.
The difference between the US and European experience with islam is simply the numbers. The US has a minuscle percentage, so the problem slips under the radar. But if Japan makes the European mistake, it will have the European experience. (Closer to Japan, you can visit Mindanao in the Philippines or Naravat in Thailand to see how well that works out.)

But I am optimistic that Japan won´t do that. Rather, I expect more Chinese immigrants. And there is plenty more where they come from...

I can tell by the way you write that you know Europe (and Islam) through word-of-mouth and biased informations. It makes me think of a US Fox-news political analysis

First thing : Europe is not a country, and there is a huge difference between, say, UK, where immigrants are encouraged to stay in communities with their own habits and can have few contacts with other communities if it pleases them, and say, France, where they are supposed to become theoretical republican, democratic integrated French citizens, washing/fading away their prime roots.

This leads to all sorts of failures, and success also. The failure often comes from suburban ghettos, where 40 years ago the problem was with locals instead of immigrants.

As it comes to violence and insecurity, I felt less secure in Key West/Florida while going sligthly off the touristic path and reaching a local ghetto than anywhere I've been in Europe.

About Japan, certainly they have to do something about their demography, and the sooner the better !

 

[Will]

In reference to the Vice article though, nearly 100US for cuddling. .. why not. And about immigration, it is good to keep tight border control. In Australia, a family of migrants who enter the country illegal get more money and services from the government than an elderly couple on a pension, who have been working for 50 odd years and paying taxes all that time. Don't follow Australia's path Japan.