Dealing with Japan's System of Justice (Nov. 1995) by Mark A. Levin iving in Sapporo is a real treat, but sometimes things go wrong. That might be because you did something dumb and got caught, or it might be that somebody thinks you did something wrong. That's what criminal law is all about - and if you get accused of a crime, you'll be sitting in a very hot seat in the middle of the criminal justice system. Now, they call it the criminal "justice" system because it is a system that is supposed to come up with "just" results. One part of this system is that anyone accused of a crime in Japan has certain rights which are meant to protect them from illegal or abusive behavior. Therefore it helps to know what those rights are. If you are a foreigner, you should remember that Japan's system may be different from the system of your home country. Some things may be better and some worse. Since you're now in Japan, you should know how things are done here. Here are a few pointers to put somewhere in the back of your head (and maybe in a desk drawer somewhere). I hope that you never need to think about these things again, but perhaps you or a friend may be glad that you at least looked this over. Criminal Procedure: If you are suspected of a crime, you have certain important rights: 1) You have the right to consult a lawyer. If you have been arrested, you can either consult a lawyer that you hire, or you can ask for a meeting with a lawyer provided by the local lawyers' association legal aid system (touban bengoshi). If you cannot afford to pay, your first meeting with the legal aid lawyer will be free of charge. (Later meetings may also be free of charge if your application for legal aid is accepted.) Legal aid lawyers can usually bring an interpreter with them, so you can understand their advice even if you don't speak Japanese. If you want legal advice, tell any police officer, prosecutor, or judge that you would like to speak to a touban bengoshi, or ask someone to call for you. In Sapporo, call the Sapporo Bar Association Keiji Bengoshi Center (011-272-1010, any time, Japanese language only); elsewhere in Japan, have someone call the local bar association in the city nearest to where you were arrested. 2) You have the right to remain silent. However, you do not have the right to refuse to be questioned. So, the police or prosecutors may question you even if you tell them you do not want to be questioned. But, remember, you do not have to answer any question that you do not want to. Indeed, you can refuse to answer every question they ask. 3) You have the right to be questioned in a language understandable to you with the help of a competent interpreter. During questioning, if there is no interpreter, or if you are not satisfied with the interpreter that has been provided for you, you should ask for another interpreter. 4) You have the right to have a relative and/or your nation's consulate notified of your arrest and detention. Also, you will probably be allowed to communicate with your legal counsel, relatives, and friends while you are in detention, but in some cases, you may be allowed to speak only to your counsel. 5) You have the right to be free from physical violence and torture. However, if your conduct is questionable, the police may say violence was necessary to restrain you. Be careful not to give them that excuse. Stay calm and cooperative, even while you insist upon your rights. As a law professor, I can hardly claim to be expert in nutrition. However, I've just learned an important lesson about nutrition that may be helpful to pass along to the readers of The Sapporo Journal. Foreigners living long-term in Japan may want to consider whether they are getting enough calcium in their diet to allow their bones to carry out the routine rebuilding process that bones do during our lives. While most attention focuses upon women's higher long-term calcium needs, men need to be careful too. On a recent visit to the States, I took a pretty simple fall while ice skating with my young nieces and ended with a severe multiple fracture of the bones in my right leg. The surgeon who put in the hardware to reconstruct my leg indicated that my bones weren't normal strength for a 36 year old active and healthy man. His guess was that a long-term calcium deficiency had weakened them. This makes sense. Japanese people's traditional calcium source is the bones of small fish (e. g. shirasu, iwashi, shishamo, etc.), but foreigners often don't eat a regular Japanese diet. Westerners (and many Japanese today) get calcium from milk products, but there may be many (such as myself) who do not consume enough. For me, three years of falling in between the two culture's dietary sources of calcium left my bones just waiting for a break. The solution is to think about dietary calcium intake )which should be 1000 mg. per day, though some say more. If what you ordinarily eat and drink doesn't cover it, a cheap calcium supplemental source is calcium-based antacids. Munching four Tums a day provides 1200 mg. I hope that this news will keep everyone happily skiing, rollerblading, or doing whatever else puts their bones at risk.