What happens to you if you are arrested in Japan?

What happens to you if you are arrested in Japan?The number of crimes recorded in Japan was 2017 915,111. By prefecture, Tokyo was on top for the number of recorded crimes followed by Osaka and Aichi. For me, there is no better place to visit or even live. And that is the reason I am here in Japan for more than 5 years. If you`ve never been to Japan, I recommend visiting at least one time in your life.

Being a foreigner really does not change anything. The exact same rules apply to citizens and foreigners. You might wanna know “What happens to you if you are arrested on Japan”.I`ve seen and heard a lot of stories about foreigners getting arrested.

What happens to you if you are arrested in Japan?

If you get arrested, Japanese police will take you into custody for 3days(72 hours). Within that 72 hours, they have to decide whether to detain or not. If the judge approves the request then you will get detained for extra 10 days and it could be extended up to 10 more days. The total detainment day is 23 days. Within that 23 days, the procedure has to decide whether to indict you or not. And you may request bail if you get indicted. During that 23 days Police will do some investigation and you are not allowed to use the telephone, email, or anything.

The common crime mostly occurs in Japan is Shop Lifting and Bar Fighting. If someone goes to the shop and takes some item and they got caught, The shopkeeper will call the police and take them to the police office nearby(交番) and probably get detained the process we discussed earlier is 23 days. Due to the Language barrier, it`s very hard to settlement. If you have a lawyer, they will try to make a settlement for the victim by providing compensation.

Bar/club Fight

If someone foreigner starts fighting with a Japanese guy and the police come, they will listen to the Japanese guy because they can communicate with them. It does not mean that you are innocent and you will get arrested. There is everywhere security cameras around and if you can prove that your story is true, you are not detained.

Graffiti

Another minor crime for foreigners is graffiti. We`ve seen a lot of graffiti around Shibuya and Shinjuku. If you get caught doing Graffiti you will get caught and probably get detained and the process we discussed earlier is 23 days. Within that 23 days if he feels guilty the police will try to contact the owner whose property was damaged for settlement. If the settlement process success, they will get released.

Disclaimer: We are not providing legal advice. Everything is based on the stories we`ve seen and heard about how foreigners got arrested. If you need Legal advice please consult a Lawyer.

we hope this blog could help the tourist visiting Japan or foreigners living in Japan to be aware of Japanese law and to be careful not to violate the law.