Exorcist_Fist
14th March 2003, 06:30
You know, there was a show about foreigner crime on last week and I got super pissed off. anyone else see it?
"Evil foreigners" congregating in the notorious Tokyo red-light district of Kabukicho are about to become the target of a massive crackdown aimed at curtailing their activities, according to Asahi Geino (3/20).
Clearing the district of illegal aliens appears to be the prime motive behind the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau's decision to set up a Shinjuku office that will be staffed by officials devoted to purging Japan's streets of those who lack a valid visa to be on them.
"We've been hearing rumors since about summer last year," the boss of a club for Filipino entertainers tells Asahi Geino. "They're all about how Immigration is going to set up a base in Kabukicho and wipe out all the foreigners there illegally. Everybody's wondering where the office will be and whether the authorities are only interested in the Chinese. It's all everybody's talking about."
Although the Immigration Bureau has decided to set up an office in Kabukicho, it won't process visas, but instead exist to catch illegal aliens.
"We plan to set up a Shinjuku office by April 1. It will employ about 30 people. We don't know where it will be yet. The base aimed purely at policing immigration policies is a test case of the first of its type in Japan," a bureau official tells Asahi Geino.
Japan is said to be home to about 250,000 people who are here without a visa. Asahi Geino says that the increase in illegal aliens has coincided with a growing number of violent crimes committed by foreigners. Kabukicho, which attracts large numbers of non-Japanese, has seen its streets become increasingly dangerous.
"We're going to cooperate closely with the police to focus on evil offenders involved in ordinary crimes," a bureau official says.
Foreigners in the district have a mixed reaction to the proposed crackdown.
"Some working girls will just head off to Ikebukuro or Ginza," a Chinese hostess tells Asahi Geino, referring to alternative entertainment areas in the capital. "Me? I'm scared, but I'll stay here (in Kabukicho)."
A source from a Korean nightclub says most foreigners will have a look at how authorities act before they react.
"Nobody actually knows how things will turn out. Any clubs that appear to be in danger will watch what's going on and shut down if they have to," the source says.
Japanese in Kabukicho are delighted with the move.
"People are staying away from Kabukicho because they think it's scary," a nightclub boss tells Asahi Geino. "If authorities can bring safety back to the streets of Kabukicho, I want them to do whatever they can."
Others think the gaijin-gari, or foreigner hunting, will be fruitless.
"Most clubs are in the name of a Japanese and for authorities to assemble the amount of proof they need to act against illegal aliens or prostitutes takes about six months," the Japanese nightclub boss says. "Six months is more than enough for somebody to sweep in, making their money and then get out again."
Police journalist Akio Kuroki also sees flaws.
"The media likes these sorts of stories, so news of the establishment of a (Kabukicho) office spread through the foreign community fairly quickly. But more than anything, I think this is just a threat," Kuroki tells Asahi Geino. "You've only got 30-or-so people working there. You've got to wonder how useful these unarmed immigration police will be when they come up against the types who commit violent crimes."
"Evil foreigners" congregating in the notorious Tokyo red-light district of Kabukicho are about to become the target of a massive crackdown aimed at curtailing their activities, according to Asahi Geino (3/20).
Clearing the district of illegal aliens appears to be the prime motive behind the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau's decision to set up a Shinjuku office that will be staffed by officials devoted to purging Japan's streets of those who lack a valid visa to be on them.
"We've been hearing rumors since about summer last year," the boss of a club for Filipino entertainers tells Asahi Geino. "They're all about how Immigration is going to set up a base in Kabukicho and wipe out all the foreigners there illegally. Everybody's wondering where the office will be and whether the authorities are only interested in the Chinese. It's all everybody's talking about."
Although the Immigration Bureau has decided to set up an office in Kabukicho, it won't process visas, but instead exist to catch illegal aliens.
"We plan to set up a Shinjuku office by April 1. It will employ about 30 people. We don't know where it will be yet. The base aimed purely at policing immigration policies is a test case of the first of its type in Japan," a bureau official tells Asahi Geino.
Japan is said to be home to about 250,000 people who are here without a visa. Asahi Geino says that the increase in illegal aliens has coincided with a growing number of violent crimes committed by foreigners. Kabukicho, which attracts large numbers of non-Japanese, has seen its streets become increasingly dangerous.
"We're going to cooperate closely with the police to focus on evil offenders involved in ordinary crimes," a bureau official says.
Foreigners in the district have a mixed reaction to the proposed crackdown.
"Some working girls will just head off to Ikebukuro or Ginza," a Chinese hostess tells Asahi Geino, referring to alternative entertainment areas in the capital. "Me? I'm scared, but I'll stay here (in Kabukicho)."
A source from a Korean nightclub says most foreigners will have a look at how authorities act before they react.
"Nobody actually knows how things will turn out. Any clubs that appear to be in danger will watch what's going on and shut down if they have to," the source says.
Japanese in Kabukicho are delighted with the move.
"People are staying away from Kabukicho because they think it's scary," a nightclub boss tells Asahi Geino. "If authorities can bring safety back to the streets of Kabukicho, I want them to do whatever they can."
Others think the gaijin-gari, or foreigner hunting, will be fruitless.
"Most clubs are in the name of a Japanese and for authorities to assemble the amount of proof they need to act against illegal aliens or prostitutes takes about six months," the Japanese nightclub boss says. "Six months is more than enough for somebody to sweep in, making their money and then get out again."
Police journalist Akio Kuroki also sees flaws.
"The media likes these sorts of stories, so news of the establishment of a (Kabukicho) office spread through the foreign community fairly quickly. But more than anything, I think this is just a threat," Kuroki tells Asahi Geino. "You've only got 30-or-so people working there. You've got to wonder how useful these unarmed immigration police will be when they come up against the types who commit violent crimes."