Jon Mott is a long time resident of Japan, part time musician and snowboarding enthusiast. He shares his thoughts about safety in Japan and. Is Japan REALLY as safe as everyone thinks it is? The guys compare the different public perceptions of the police between Japan and their home countries (the U.S. and the U.K.), and discuss the respective policing practices. Conversation highlights: A bit on Jon’s background Have the guys felt in danger in Japan? Japan being zero tolerance to drink and drive public perception of the police in Japan. cops stopping Ben on his bicycle. a SWAT team being called to a convenience store. Policing overkill. Police officers never using their guns. Jon and Burke talk about their families owning guns. How long can the Police detain a suspect without charge? Jon tells a story of a foreigner almost being arrested. Why is the conviction rate of Japan 99%? Suspects being convicted for crimes they didn’t commit. Police methods being based on cultural standards. Japanese people are not used to standing up to authority. The mass stabbing of elementary school students. A high level bureaucrat stabbing his recluse son to death. Jon and our podcasters all agree that Japan is the safest country that they have ever been too, and between them, they have visited a lot of countries. A big sign of the safeness of Japan is the police. There are a lot of police out on the streets, usually in groups, stopping suspected bicycle thieves, and these are not people who have stolen expensive, rare bikes as you would expect, but the ubiquitous mamachari (short for mama chariot), aka cheap happy shopper, which most people do not even care if their’s was stolen. A big part of safety are imbedded cultural deterrents like very low poverty, almost 100% literacy, very low unemployment, and a reasonably even distribution of wealth. That, and that the country is 98.5% all Japanese. This homogeneity acts like a glue that is, compared to other cultures, self policing. Another interesting fact is the high conviction rate in Japan being 99%. This is a controversial issue as it has been found that the Japanese police employ intimidation tactics to get confessions from suspects, which has led to wrongful convictions. The police can hold a suspect for up to 23 days, without charge! But, why do suspects confess to a crime they did not commit? Could this be a cultural issue? In spite of this, Japan is one of the safest countries in the world, with an extremely low crime rate, so you can feel safe that your wallet will not be stolen, even if it is sticking out of your back pocket! Website: http://podcast.voicesinjapan.com Follow us and check out our other content: https://twitter.com/voicesinjapan https://www.facebook.com/voicesinjapan/ https://www.instagram.com/voicesinjapan/ Get in touch: [email protected]