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© KYODOCharges dropped again over death of detained Sri Lankan woman
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Leo T
"Japanese looking out for the Japanese in Japan
Yes as they should, this is Japan you know.
Three goals
Keep fighting! Justice must be served!
opheliajadefeldt
Welcome to Japan, do not over stay your visa time...........OR ELSE.......who knows what will happen to you.
Gaijinjland
If the family is so bent on getting justice why did they refuse to allow an autopsy to be performed? They really went against their own self interests with that.
CKAI
Yea… sure… case by case
Mocheake
What garbage. You know absolutely nothing. Knowing some b.s. Latin term makes you smart? No, it makes you smug and uncaring of this person's life because she wasn't from your group. It's NOT alright for someone to lose their life over something like this. If this happened to a Japanese in another country, their government would be up in arms. Anytime a Japanese person is detained they protest strongly but how many people have died in detention here with no real punishment given to the guards? Make sure you post that same b.s. term when another Japanese breaks the law in a foreign country and gets detained.
theFu
Minor crimes get a 5000¥ fine and you leave the police station. If you are put in jail, it isn't a minor crime.
Under no legal definition is this murder. Neglect, perhaps. Professional incompetence, definitely.
Who was notified, when?
Where's the paperwork for those notifications?
What changes have been made to prevent something similar from happening again?
These are how I'd expect Japan's jails to address it.
Follow the facts. If there aren't any facts, then the boss is accountable and needs to be fired.
The replacement must put in a reporting system to ensure there's a paper trail and that anyone can notify officials, in writing, so there will be a paper trail for future issues. Heck, I can see a 1pg form to be filled out for each shift as a step in the right direction. "Inmate ok" (y/N). If "no", describe the issue and hand this form to your supervisor. Checklists aren't hard to make and use, but if they don't exist and aren't required, there will never be a trail of facts.
quercetum
Japanese looking out for the Japanese in Japan. The cards are stacked. If it were a Japanese victim then it would be bureaucrats looking out for bureaucrats. Only a case like Ghosn’s will you get them moving.
kurisupisu
Scores of deaths in Japanese detention?
Not really a positive image for Japan
TaiwanIsNotChina
Yeah, the punishment for overstaying your visa was not supposed to be death. I thought you were big on following some sort of mythical standards.
Yeah a country that selectively enforces the law is not one that is giving any credence to the law.
Latin won't make it not a murder.
TokyoLiving
Japan is a country of laws, which are enforced...
Japan is not for everyone, so don't come to Japan illegally or to do an illegal overstay...
It was a regrettable ending but 100% avoidable if that person had not broken Japanese law intentionally...
Many people would say that Japan is racist but it is not like that, if you follow the law, the rules and respect the country, Japan treats you very well...
It is not racism, it is the right of each country to take care of its borders...
Without law and order no country can survive...
DURA LEX SED LEX
FireyRei
When I left Japan after 18 years of witnessing and experiencing first hand xenophobia and at times racism, I knew I would never live there again. What has changed? How many times can you accept being asked when you’re leaving? Disgraceful news.
Mocheake
Like the sun rising every morning. That's Japan. You want justice here? Good luck but it ain't happening. You belong to the wrong ethnic group.
Ah_so
This pretty, vindictive language makes me sick.
A relatively minor crime cost this woman her life due to Japanese indifference and incompetence and her family are rightly distraught and want justice.
But there is no real justice in Japan. At least not for foreigners.
Redemption
Very disappointing.
Alan Harrison
Predictable.
nosuke
theFoo
not even death sentence of the convicts will bring their daughter back.
bas you’re logic says murder is ok if judges think they are not guilty
v_kurtzel
The consequences of failing to renew one's visa on time can potentially result in death by immigration authorities.
How will this affect the call for highly skilled immigrants ?
The solution lies in ..... robots . carry on ...nothing to see here.
Keepyer Internetpoints
It makes no sense to charge "officials" until after the people directly in her care have been charged, at minimum. Where are the charges against those who were directly responsible for her well-being? And if she died not because or just because those people are evil or careless monsters, but also because there is a problem with the system or the orders of "officials" THEN you after the "officials".
The only way I can interpret putting this cart before the horse is that its an intention move to wreck the case and ensure that no one is punished for this most obvious criminal negligence or murder.
And that can only be because the entire system is evil and rotten, rather than simply negligent.
This needs fixed. And shame on the entire damned government for not making sure it does get fixed.
CaptDingleheimer
These courts view themselves not as arbiters in these individual cases, but as bulwarks against the Japanese race losing its status quo position of a greater life value than non-Japanese. While a non-Japanese who commits a serious crime against a Japanese is swiftly and harshly dealt with, the courts always seem to find a way to let a Japanese perpetrator off the hook when its the other way around so as not to set a precedent. There's the lip service reality when Japan participates in UN kumbaya sing-alongs, then there's the reality on the ground. Japan rarely even honors extradition treaties it's party to in order to protect this racial hierarchy, while fiercly demanding extradition of foreigners to Japan when the tables are turned.
lunatic
The consequences of failing to renew one's visa on time can potentially result in death by immigration authorities.
How will this affect to highly skilled immigrants?
theFu
Interesting to read the comments here. Some are convinced it was murder. Others are convinced she brought this on by being a criminal (illegal immigrant).
Funny how the family now does what's needed trying to get "justice" for their daughter ... but wouldn't pay for deportation costs. They share fault, but don't want to hear it. How much ¥ is "justice" for them? It won't bring back their daughter.
She should have left before her visa expired. Period. That applies everywhere in the world. No exceptions, unless the person has a pre-paid ticket to leave before expiration AND ends up in hospital unable to travel. Any other excuse is like that thing we all have, but nobody wants to hear.
ian
Far as I know they couldn't deport her because of the system some posters are alluding to she's trying to game.
She's been denied a few times but she kept on appealing, no stated limit on number of time applicants cam appeal.
ian
Murder?
Yrral
Their need to be an international investigation of this woman death,so it will not get swept under the rug
smithinjapan
Of course they did. Why do you think Japan has such a stellar human rights record?
Leo T
As it should have been, she tried to play the system.
Her family only has to blame her.
Dont try to skirt the law and expect a good outcome
Richard Burgan
A great shame for Japan. It is unbelievable that this exists in Japan.
kurisupisu
There are so many other issues that will stem from this.
I guarantee that this news ends up all the msm too
What issues, I hear you ask?
Well, how about this one?
Can we imagine how Sri Lankan’s going to feel with this verdict?
Now, China has already made inroads into the Sri Lankan economy due to its strategic placement for shipping.
What small whispers into Sri Lankan ears might be placed by Japan’s rival to sway sentiment?
Japanese politicians continually murmur about justice, rule of law and the need to protect the status quo, right?
There isn’t any sign of those concepts in this verdict.
Well, the politicians and the MOJ (sic) have failed in those regards-Japan has been pushed back decades…
Cat Stevens
I do think this is a miscarriage of justice. Many people commenting seem to think that this is because the woman involved was a foreigner and it's such a predictable response from most of the commenters on this site. I think the outcome would have been the same even if the affected people were Japanese. This has nothing to do with where the victim was from and everything to do with the powers that be protecting their own proverbial behind. Look at how long the the people of Minamata had to wait for justice. Were they all foreigners?
Alan Bogglesworth
A blight against this otherwise great country forever. Disgraceful.
Alex
Sadly not even remotely surprised. This feels like Japan's usual M.O. Make it seem like you are doing something, when from the get-go you never planned to change the initial results anyway. I hope the family gets justice. Despicable.
(Also despicable if anyone here really believes overstaying a visa warrants death as punishment.)
thaonephil
Institutionalized harassment will not change for decades even with attention from overseas news.
nosuke
They are Getting away with murder
Sanjinosebleed
Looks like we need another BBC documentary!!!
Mr Kipling
The correct outcome. Unfortunate incident but there was only one person at fault.
WA4TKG
We knew what the outcome of their “ Investigation” was going to be: Not Guilty is what we’re looking for”
John
It’s horrible that authorities, officials can comfortably lie and cover up murder without shame and disgust. Everyone with fairness other than the officials can tell the reason of death is negligence and abuse of the person by the authorities.
Yubaru
Impossible to find "a" person responsible so "everyone" gets a free pass!
OssanAmerica
I don't buy it.
Clearly 過失殺人.
リッチ
Disgusting. Either lock them up and provide care or deport them. The people responsible for her care failed to provide a safe environment. I don’t support her crime of over staying but it’s not a death sentence issue and if they could not provide care get her on the next plane home. They got away with manslaughter.
M3M3M3
It's a reasonable decision. Yes, with the benefit of hindsight we know that the guards made the wrong call, but that doesn't turn them into criminals. Whether the Japanese government should be civilly liable for the woman's death is another matter.
Paul
I am not at all surprised! The police and the prison guards must be protected otherwise Japan is going to lose face. Thing is, this makes it even worse! Everyone knows how twisted and criminal Japan's legal system is! Japan loosing face Internationally!!!!
virusrex
To the surprise of absolutely nobody.
Of course the fight of the family was not in vain, and with luck will help changing things in the future, but with the current situation it was clear from the beginning this was going to be the result.
oyatoi
In 1901, British author G. K. Chesterton wrote in his book "The Defendant":
He goes on to explain his view: “No doubt if a decent man's mother took to drink he would share her troubles to the last; but to talk as if he would be in a state of gay indifference as to whether his mother took to drink or not is certainly not the language of men who know the great mystery.”
Chesterton, through the analogy of the ‘drunk mother’, was pointing out to the fact that blind patriotism is not patriotism. Jingoism can only bring about the downfall of the nation, just like false pride brings us to a fall.
English novelist Patrick O'Brian wrote in his novel "Master and Commander":
u_s__reamer
This troubling case illustrates once again that a satisfactory answer to the question the Romans puzzled over, "quis custodiet ipsos custodes?", still to this day has not been found even by "democracies".
Seesaw7
We all know this from the beginning.
sakurasuki
It shows how they value foreigners life in Japan, it doesn't matter whether it's Ratnayake Liyanage or Lucie Blackman, all shows how their preferential treatment.