Job Discussion Forums

[JimDunlop2]

I was in a rush before when I left my first comment, but I do feel rather passionate about this issue (for obvious reasons) but I did want to respond to a few of the comments made...

[AndyH]

Stay home if you want to get stoned. We don't need anymore foreigners here giving the rest of us a bad image.

[PAULH]

Not to mention that any Japanese guy you buy the stuff off may be an undercover cop.

I read a post somewhere where some guys roommate had mailed himself some hooch while he was overseas. One morning about about 8 immigration and drug squad guys came and did a search of his apartment, as well as went through his roommate belongings. Turned the place upside down and that immediately puts other people under suspicion.


Jim, a couple of corrections.

The amount of time they hold you in jail before they charge you or you appear before a judge is 21 days. Your embassy wont want to know you.

Japanese prosecutors have a 99% success rate for convictions.

They use dogs at Narita and dogs don't lie.

[fizayded]

well, strictly from an economical standpoint, I believe the going rate for a dub or joint is gonna be about 5000 yen, or about 50 bucks. So pretty expensive, I know a guy who could probbbbably get stuff, but then again, ehh... it can wait, and least I wont get years in california just for getting high. The drugs of choice in this country are alcohol, cigarettes and work.

[AndyH]

By the way, I LOVED Taikibansei's response!!

[taikibansei]

I'm anti-drugs?! Give me a break!

I am anti-morons, however. Here's a newsflash--Japanese cops can be more than a bit nasty, and foreigners are often targeted for "crimes" in Japan. As Jim, Paul, and others have alluded to, you get busted in Japan, you're locked away for up to 21 days without access to anyone. That means no lawyer, no embassy, no friends, no mom & dad (the latter seems like it would be particularly tough for many of you). Unless you are a Paul McCartney, you then pay a large fine and go to jail for up to seven years...and you do not want to be in a Japanese jail:

http://www.justicefornickbaker.org/en/justice.htm
http://www.hrw.org/research/japan.html
http://www.japantraveler.com/JT-99.12/brutality.htm
http://www.newfilipina.com/members/pngayon/02.07/IPSLife.html
http://p080.ezboard.com/frealdiscussionboardfrm13.showMessageRange?topicID=24.topic&start=1&stop=20

Frankly, given all this, why would anyone go to Japan to score drugs? You'd be paying 2-3 times what things cost in the States, and the penalites (especially for marijuana) are much stiffer. What's next for you idiots, Singapore?! But heh, to each his/her own, right? Party on!

Two final statements from Amnesty International:

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

Public Statement

AI Index: ASA 22/009/2002 (Public)
News Service No: 211
20 November 2002


Japan: prison abuses must stop
Amnesty International called today on the Japanese authorities to initiate a thorough, public and independent investigation into the recent ill treatment of a 30 year old man, the death of another prisoner in May in Nagoya Prison, as well as prisoners' complaints regarding the use of force and ill-treatment by prison officials.

"All those responsible for such abuses should be brought to justice," Amnesty International stressed.

The organization urged the authorities to establish an independent body to inspect prisons, monitor the treatment of prisoners and general conditions of detention. The inspection body should be able to speak privately to prisoners, and report publicly on its findings. Doctors and psychiatrists should be members of this body.

" Japan should ensure that the rights of all prisoners and detainees - as guaranteed in international human rights standards to which Japan is a state party - are protected," Amnesty International said.

According to the organization penal facilities are overcrowded and secretive and abuse of prisoners is widespread.

Amnesty International also highlighted the lack of transparency regarding the internal regulations of penal facilities in Japan. Prison and detention centre governors are given wide discretionary powers to decide the rules of their institutions, and these are kept secret on grounds of maintaining "security".

All detention facilities in the country operate extremely strict disciplinary regimes with inmates forced to comply with arbitrary rules rigorously enforced by staff. Prisoners are often not allowed to talk with each other or even make eye contact. Punishment for flouting these rules includes being made to sit in the same position for hours at a time, sometimes over several months, and not being allowed to wash or exercise. Punishment also apply to all those who complain.

According to Amnesty International, some penal institutions still hold prisoners in a "protection cell" (hogobo) as means of punishment. Hogobo cells are special cells constructed for housing prisoners who are deemed to show certain aggravated signs of instability or vulnerability. Inmates are held in metal or leather handcuffs, which are kept on even while they eat. They are made to excrete through a hole cut in their pants (mataware pants).

"Such treatment is cruel, inhuman and degrading and must be stopped," the organization added.

While most prisons in Japan have cut down on punishments using the leather handcuffs, Nagoya Prison has reportedly increased their use from 53 cases last year to 148 this year. Amnesty International believes that the use of leather handcuffs and body belts in Japan has the same effect as a strait-jacket and must never be imposed as a punishment.

Amnesty International calls on the Japanese government to comply with international standards for the treatment of prisoners and to establish an independent mechanism for investigation of complaints. Amnesty International draws the government's attention to Article 33 of the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, as well as international standards set out in the "Manual on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the Istanbul Protocol)", the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

While Amnesty International has noted the 8 November arrest of five prison officials on charges of seriously injuring an inmate in Nagoya Prison, the organization is concerned that there are many more such cases throughout the country.

In 1997 and 1998 Amnesty International issued reports on Japan highlighting the ill-treatment of prisoners , the use of leather handcuffs which is likened to "medieval instruments of torture". In 1998 the United Nations Commission on Human Rights expressed concern about the frequent use of restrains or methods which amount to cruel treatment of prisoners, especially usage of leather handcuffs as punishment in Japan .

Background
Prosecutors reportedly arrested five Nagoya Prison officials on 8 November this year for using restraining devices: leather handcuffs and manacles to restrain the 30 year old prisoner on 25 September. As a result, the prisoner suffered internal bleeding, and required hospital treatment. Recent reports suggest the same type of restraining devices and physical violence by Nagoya Prison officials were used against the 49 year old prisoner who died in May.

Article 33 of the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, as well as international standards set out in the "Manual on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the Istanbul Protocol)", International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, prohibit ill-treatment of prisoners.


AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
PRESS RELEASE


AI Index: ASA 22/001/2004 (Public)
News Service No: 063
18 March 2004



Japan: arbitrary arrest and continued detention of peace activists is a violation of their basis rights to freedom of expression
Amnesty International strongly condemns the detention in police custody of three activists for over two weeks for distributing pamphlets opposing the despatch of Japanese Self-Defence Forces (SDF) to Iraq.

The three activists -- two men and a woman -- were arrested in the western Tokyo suburb of Tachikawa on 27 February 2004 under charges of "trespassing" under Article 130 of the Japanese Criminal Code.

The activists were distributing pamphlets which called for people to think more carefully about the deployment of the SDF. They were distributed to mailboxes at the SDF personnel�s housing units in the western Tokyo suburb of Tachikawa.

Amnesty International considers these activists to be prisoners of conscience, detained in violation of their right to freedom of expression guaranteed under Article 21 of the Japanese Constitution and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, an international treaty to which Japan is a state party. They should be released immediately.

The organization also notes with concern the harassment meted out to the families of the three activists including searches of their houses and the subsequent impounding of their notes and personal computers.

The three activists have been in police custody in Tachikawa where they have been subjected to nearly eight hours of interrogation every day since their arrest. No lawyer is present during the interrogation. Information received by Amnesty International suggests that they have been interrogated by authorities belonging to the public security unit of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police suggesting that this case has national security implications.

"We call for their immediate release and pending their release, Japan should ensure that their rights -- as guaranteed in international human rights standards to which Japan is a state party -- are protected," Amnesty International said.

[Crab]

Jim, sorry that my facetiousness didn't translate well. I wasn't really high going through airport security or when shopping at 100 yen shops... or for any of my other examples. However, I often felt like I was on drugs when witnessing p enis festivals. If you haven't been to one, please go! That goes for everyone! There's one in Tochio-shi in Niigata if you're in the area. There are many others.

To the OP, drugs are available, harder to find, and more expensive. Same as other western novelties like whole wheat bread, turkey, shoes/condoms that fit, non-lager beer, and a quiet place to relax outdoors.

I therefore recommend that you replace your recreational drug use while in Japan with the following: Make a habit of taking some Guinness and whole wheat turkey sandwiches to enjoy for a picnic lunch in a quiet park near your home. Invite a willing partner who can join you for wild, passionate, and most importantly PROTECTED sex in the park following the meal.

I'm quite sure you'll find this as risky and exciting as drug use but with much less dire consequences should you get caught.

Good luck with your life choices

[JimDunlop2]

[thestaypail]

Thanks to all for the helpful information. It looks like another thing I'll be doing in Japan is taking a break from drugs, which can definitely be good thing. Their legal system is jacked!

Just to clear up a false stereotype, a lot of you guys seem to automatically associate drug use with partying or slacking off. But their is an extensive history of spiritual, therapeutic, and creative applications with drugs. Most innovative forms of music and art is influenced in part by drugs (I'm sure since mushrooms were legal until 2002 they influenced a lot of Japanese music and art) . Meditation and consciousness exploration with the assistance of drugs has been widely written about. By using psychedelics like lsd people journey into the collective unconscious, or parallel realities, and bring back interesting theories and visions which have a solid basis in quantum physics, Eastern philosophies, and Western psychology.

I come from an unique angle I guess since I work with drug research, but it's easy to find out that some drugs aren't just for recreational purposes. Like everything else, it's relative.

[taikibansei]

[JimDunlop2]

[Gordon]

[Crab]

[taikibansei]

[osakajojo]