4 wanted criminals escape Japan; Justice Ministry blames Immigration Bureau

Sounds like some possible potential bribery occurred here.

bass4funk,

I think we can ascribe incompetence to this rather than bribery.

bass4funk my thoughts exactly.

Probably typical, look busy but actually no care or understanding of responsibility. I suggest an endemic problem caused by an unreasonable focuss on appearances over actual results. Police can hardly complain anyway they continually make blunders.

Could be bribery or incompetence, but the good point is these scum are out of the country.

It definitely sounds suspicious. I could understand a couple of cases of incompetence, for sure, but 'I noticed nothing' sounds a bit far-fetched. I go with the bribery idea.

Sounds like china hacked the justice system and now controls whatever it wants.

I think it should be noted that the headline states that they are criminals but later in the article they write that these people are only suspected of crimes. Doesn't that make them suspects rather than criminals?

Ohhh I see where this is headed. The next step, to stop these "great escapes," will be for Japan to institute fingerprinting of foreigners when they leave the country as well.

Can' t seek help from interpol?

Someone forgot to hit the enter key!

Someone forgot to hit the enter key!

BS! They just wanted them to leave the country asap.

@Virtuoso

Ohhh I see where this is headed. The next step, to stop these "great escapes," will be for Japan to institute fingerprinting of foreigners when they leave the country as well.

Hmmm..you never know...

... and how many were stopped by this system? If 400 other criminals were stopped then this would represent a 1% margin of error and could easily be ascribed to human error or a system glitch. If this is a 100% failure rate (i.e. 4 out of 4) at 3 different airports then it's a completely different issue, and points to some systematic problem, a loophole in the system, or near-universal corruption amoungst immigration officials.

Without context it's virtually impossible to say. Come on JT, try doing a little actual investigation and finding out how many criminals were stopped by the system (if any). Without that fact this isn't information, it's nonsense.

The computer screen was blanked by 10,000 yen bills!!! (ha ha ha!!)

This is exactly why this place is a haven for foreign fraud and theft. Once they're out, they say shoganai unless you are Japanese. You could skimp out on your phone bill, defraud thousands, blow off your credit cards/mortgage, punch your gf but don't ever come back. They don't have the diplomatic and police skills nor language ability to go further than the gate. I am still surprised they nabbed the Hong Kong jewelry gang that knocked over the Ginza store. They do pursue kidnappings as well. There is more to the story here but looks like typical Japanese incompetence. I have seen a few nasty dodgy Chinese going through the airports recently. One guy was with his gf on a flight sitting near me... arms dealer who just sold a load to the Yaks. Guy had out schematics of machine guns, the works. Stench of booze and tobacco two rows away. Japan needs to step up on the Triads/and the other scumbags coming over here and traveling with the businessmen and families on holiday. Oblivious. Go to the root of the problem... Take down the Yakuza.

Again, no source. It seems like we see the news articles with no byline or citation right here in crime category. I'm not sure if it is an error or a gossip/hearsay. Even though this is the sort of headline news, it should be credited with authorized news source. What's worse in this sensationalized news is that it doesn't provide any warrant for these four fugitives. I mean, why are they wanted??? Drug smuggling? Illegal immigrants? Computer hacking? Or Failure to show ARCs when asked by the police at the airport?

Moderator: The story is based on a report released to the media by the NPA, which is indicated in the story.

Most likely Triad related, Triads are quite strong in Japan and the Asia Pacific region

In and out, the perfect crime!

Every time I leave Narita, the immigration officer barely gives me a glance and he only glances at his screen for a second. This may have been a computer glitch.

When I come back, though, I sure get scrutinized because the fingerprint machine never works the first one or two times.

I agree with amerijap, this is very bad journalism:

Are they suspects or criminals?

What are they accused of? Is it fraud, crime, non payment of bills, drug trafficking... ?

How much do these 4 errors represent compared to the total number of suspects/criminals stopped at the border?

Did they leave for China or a third country?

Depending on the gravity of the offense/crime, will Japan try to launch an international warrant or try to collaborate with Chinese police?

I sincerely hope this episode pans out into a worldwide manhunt which inspires an awesome movie

my2sense:you were doing well and on the money until you got to the little fantasy bit on the plane. Why post stuff like that? It's pure fantasy and you know it.

Now if these guys stole some bicycles this wouldn't have happened.

@my2sense

This is exactly why this place is a haven for foreign fraud and theft. Once they're out, they say shoganai unless you are Japanese. You could skimp out on your phone bill, defraud thousands, blow off your credit cards/mortgage, punch your gf but don't ever come back. They don't have the diplomatic and police skills nor language ability to go further than the gate. I am still surprised they nabbed the Hong Kong jewelry gang that knocked over the Ginza store. They do pursue kidnappings as well. There is more to the story here but looks like typical Japanese incompetence. I have seen a few nasty dodgy Chinese going through the airports recently. One guy was with his gf on a flight sitting near me... arms dealer who just sold a load to the Yaks. Guy had out schematics of machine guns, the works. Stench of booze and tobacco two rows away. Japan needs to step up on the Triads/and the other scumbags coming over here and traveling with the businessmen and families on holiday. Oblivious. Go to the root of the problem... Take down the Yakuza.

Great post, my sentiments exactly~

Fantasy....ok... most things in life are right in front of you. Triads sell guns, drugs and girls to Yakuza all the time... perhaps the machine guns were for another deal in Asia... My point was to take down the (a good chunk) of Yaks to keep the scum out. They are behind 90% of the frauds and robbery as well...

It is amazing how few people notice that the word **"criminals" is used. These people have not been convicted of any crime, and should be considered "suspects"-nothing more. I will check the Japanese press and see how they are described. Japanese who have been arrested but not tried are called higisha or yougisha (suspects), not hanzaisha or hannin-criminals. I urge all the people on this list to try to be somewhat more critical. Michael Fox Japan Innocence and Death Penalty Information Center.

Come on JT, try doing a little actual investigation and finding out how many criminals were stopped by the system (if any). Without that fact this isn't information, it's nonsense.

Come on JT doesnt "investigate" anything, it just regurgitates something that was originally printed or reported by Japanese press and re-reported here in English.

Lets hope the four crminals clean up thier act on returning to China otherwise they will be in front of a firing squad a darn sitequicker then the Japanese immigration officers react to the computer alerts

They could possibly be spies and the media isn't really declaring that due to another diplomatic dispute between the two countries..

four wanted suspects were Chinese nationals who left Japan via Narita, Kansai International and Chubu International airports between January and April of this year. No glitch was found.

My common sense is telling me this; 4 chinese criminals, 3 different airports, 4 months period , no glitch?

A someone big in J. Gov is involved to help them escape from Japan. It was all done behind the door. The further investigation on this matter is necessary.

Oh wait this is hilarious.....the next step will be that a civilian counsel will get together and endite these 4 Chinese, then demand thier return from China, so they can be tried. Sounds almost familiar...just they got away without being caught first.

"The Immigration Bureau"

Countless hours have been wasted there by countless foreigners.

OK, I'll make the obligatory "keystone cops" reference here. If it was bribery at least immigration won't look like complete bunglers....that's the only upside. If they got out then they can get back in. And the probably don't have any skills to fill a legal job, except maybe at McD's.

The NPA has requested that the Ministry of Justice take steps to strengthen its countermeasures for dealing with wanted criminals.

Erm, pot calling the kettle methinks.

anglootaku:

Most likely Triad related

They could possibly be spies

There does seem to be a lot of hot air. Where are your sources? Do you know something the rest of us don't.

my2sense:

I am still surprised they nabbed the Hong Kong jewelry gang that knocked over the Ginza store.

I'd put that down to the HK police and authorities. The Japanese counterparts are amateurs, at best, compared to them.

If alert status has been sent to all computers and immigration officers did not get it . That was really impossible. That means there is somebody from tthe immigration working for this chinese criminals. I hope the NPA will investigate thoroughly and find out who are these guys.