Woman police officer, driving drunk, causes crash with baby daughter in back seat

Six times the legal alcohol limit?! I thought the legal alcohol limit is zero? 6 x 0=..... 0?!

This headline is like some kind of game you play where you try to put as many crazy things as possible into one sentence.

Six times the legal limit? Not hard to get a figure like that when the legal limit is what is naturally in the blood. What we need are numbers, not misleading math.

She stumbled and fell? Yeah, sober people do that after an accident as well.

What I am in awe of is that she left her baby.

And what makes me sad is that she will get all the blame, but her husband will get none. He didn't notice she was having problems? What has he been doing to help? I ask, because I don't know. But the law won't even question it. Men do this all the time. They wash their hands of caring for the the baby, then when the mother tries and fails, she gets all the blame.

Forget the fact that she's a jpolice, She's got to be absolutely out of her freakin mind for driving with with that much alcohol in her with a five month old baby in the car!! She doesn't deserve to have kids or a badge.

"she left her daughter on the ground and ran away" What a lowlife! Drunk drivers aren't driving their vehicle, they're aiming it.

j-police for the win!

just in time for the weekly police action

Sad, very sad. Especially for the child since her mother will undoubtably deny she has a drinking problem and the poor kid will have to grow up in that environment. Let's hope she does in fact seek help and can provide the little one with a positive up-bringing.

Hope she gets fired, fined, have driving license revoked indef and placed in jail.

as per captain awesome, 6x0 sounds sober.

the whole article sounds like a game you play where you try to put as many crazy things as you can into it.

More alcohol related silliness in a country where marijuana is viewed like it is crack cocaine.

5 month old baby probably still breast feeding too...

Ermmh... What?

So let me just recap what happened: A police officer drives under the influence with a baby in car, causes an accident, runs away from the accident site, abandons her baby on the road to continue her getaway? Did I understand this correctly?!?

Please somebody assure me there is a limit to the degradation of Jcops! Please?!? Anybody?

If it is true that she is having problems with raising the child, I hope she gets help so the child is never put in danger again.

The legal limit for BAC in Japan is .03 so I assume that she had a .18 which is falling down drunk if I am not mistaken.

Normally I'd make a light hearted joke about the j cops in these articles. But not this time because there was a baby girl in the car with her as well. How stupid and selfish of this woman!

I personally hope she gets the sack. That whole ''I drank because I was stressed'' excuse doesn't wash with me. Plenty of first time mothers are stressed but I don't see many of them endangering their childs life by driving drunk.

Mumbo I am afraid I must disagree. Her excuse is most likely an attempt to get a lighter sentence. I grow up poor. My mom raised six kids without dads mental and/or physical help. He worked day and night. Half of us are CEOs and the other work for reputable companies. If you grow up in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, you know what I mean. We didn't cry and make excuses. We actually earned what we have today. To much pampering of kids today.

One has to wonder... do the Japanese police have a stupidity contest going on? This woman is an abomination of a human being. Hope the kid gets a better home with parents who will actually care.

How many problems could be avoided if people could talk more honestly with their spouses.

I read an article on JT that the drink driving limit was 0.06. That's about the same as rinsing your mouth out with mouth wash.

Another fine example that Japan needs to have more support for new parents. Postnatal depression should be taken more seriously here.

Well at least she didn't leave the baby alone at home - or in a locked car out in the sun...

And what makes me sad is that she will get all the blame, but her husband will get none. He didn't notice she was having problems? What has he been doing to help? I ask, because I don't know. But the law won't even question it. Men do this all the time. They wash their hands of caring for the the baby, then when the mother tries and fails, she gets all the blame.

Do you take everything you read in a newspaper or hear in the news at face value? The woman is a cop, and I am quite confident that she is smart enough to know which buttons to push and what excuses to make to the police when explaining her actions.

It could be true for all we know, postpartum depression is a reality, however the average Japanese person are unaware of the symptoms and how to deal with it. You may not like it but that's the reality.

She is a cop, SHE KNEW the consequences of her actions, SHE KNEW what she was doing was illegal, SHE KNEW that she could be caught or have an accident.

Police say she stumbled and fell, at which point she left her daughter on the ground and ran away.

This is the first crummy story I have read about a lady cop.

Here is the worldwide Blood alcohol table if you are interested. Like I said above .03 for Japan. http://www.icap.org/table/BACLimitsWorldwide

At least it seems everyone is OK. But what is she, a single mom? Where's the hubby in all of this?

Can we pleeeeeeez have a section for crimes committed by police?

Now, if I was reading this in a Mexican newspaper etc..I would be somewhat surprised, but here in Japan?? Not Osaka, but TOKYO?? This is just shameful. Ok, you are on maternity leave, no brains to get wasted in your own house?? Or take a TAXI?? Oh, wait, let me go out for a few drinks with the baby and in my own car?? Something is really really really messed up! Maybe her husband is no good, never helps her, ok, but she must have parents, ojiichan and obaachan can usually help raising their own daughters kids, their own grandkids, thank god/s nothing horrible happened to this poor 5 month old little baby. This mother needs medical/mental help IMHO. Change careers??

What an embarrassment. No wonder police here can't command any respect.

Her fight-or-flight response trumped her parental instincts. Mother of the Year Award candidate? Hell nooooooo.

hmm if the limit is 0.03 then she must of been 0.18. A friend of mine when we were younger got done for drink driving at 0.17... He was a pretty big guy and he was blind drunk, wiping the floor with his face kind of drunk. This lady must of been completely out of it. Im surprised she could "run".

Here is the worldwide Blood alcohol table if you are interested. Like I said above .03 for Japan. http://www.icap.org/table/BACLimitsWorldwide

I need to get myself to Barbados stat!

Sounds like this woman needs help. She didn't have mother or anyone to talk to? Even just reading maternity book will teach her the hormonal levels can cause many unusual things in her body and mind and how to deal with the "baby situation".

"Six times the legal alcohol limit?! I thought the legal alcohol limit is zero? 6 x 0=..... 0?!"

it's actually 0.03 USA is 0.08

so... its even twice as high as US legal limit. She was pretty drunk. For the average person that is about 6 drinks worth.

It's hard to tell how drunk somebody is based only on their blood alcohol level. Professional drunks can handle a lot more, and will seem to be in a lot more control with a much higher level. For somebody who drinks regularly, 0.18 is really not that high, meaning you wouldn't notice much behavior difference.

The article doesn't say how she got caught after she ran away. Did they chase her on foot? Did she turn herself in? Did she run two steps and go back for her daughter to find the cops waiting?

I'm wondering if the events between "leaving the daughter on the ground" and being apprehended were purposely left out to make for a more dramatic story.

Words fail me (again) when it comes to the Japanese so-called police. Not only useless, but also adding to the crimes stats themselves. They really are unworthy of the job title.

Mumbo: "And what makes me sad is that she will get all the blame, but her husband will get none."

I'm so sick of hearing people defend insanity when it's a woman, and always try to bring in the husband. Did you notice she said she 'hid it' from him? meaning she thought he did not know? This woman did EVERYTHING wrong, from start to finish, and she deserves the punishment anyone else would get under the circumstances. The sad part is she probably won't be punished beyond a fine, and can go back to the bottle while her baby and husband suffer for it.

What an embarrassment. No wonder police here can't command any respect.

Regular Japanese people have plenty of respect for the police. It's the gaijin that don't respect them.

Stranger: "Regular Japanese people have plenty of respect for the police. It's the gaijin that don't respect them."

Because they can compare them to REAL police in other nations. Sure, once in a while you can read the news in other nations and see a story about a corrupt police officer, or an officer who gets drunk while off duty, but hear you read about it near EVERY DAY. Yesterday it was the police refusing to accept the complaint of a father whose son committed suicide due to bullying, and today it's yet another drunk driving police officer who got in an accident and tried to flee the scene.

Guza!: j-police for the win!

DoLittleBeLate: Please somebody assure me there is a limit to the degradation of Jcops! Please?!?

marcelito: Just unbelievable - the standard of cops in this country.

cornbread1: No wonder police here can't command any respect.

Ted Barrera: One has to wonder... do the Japanese police have a stupidity contest going on?

And as if this an isssue regarding the Japanese police in general, rather than the actions of one individual that -- for reasons unclear -- headlined in 'international media'. The only standards that disappoint me, are those of the headlines and the judgement that this is in any way representative of "degradation" of "J-police." What?

I respect the Japanese police. Certainly, I respect them more than any other I have experienced.

Guza!: j-police for the win!

DoLittleBeLate: Please somebody assure me there is a limit to the degradation of Jcops! Please?!?

marcelito: Just unbelievable - the standard of cops in this country.

cornbread1: No wonder police here can't command any respect.

Ted Barrera: One has to wonder... do the Japanese police have a stupidity contest going on?

And as if this an isssue regarding the Japanese police in general, rather than the actions of one individual that -- for reasons unclear -- headlined in 'international media'. The only standards that disappoint me, are those of the headlines and the judgement that this is in any way representative of "degradation" of "J-police." What?

I respect the Japanese police. Certainly, I respect them more than any 'REAL police' other I have experienced.

Sure, once in a while you can read the news in other nations and see a story about a corrupt police officer, or an officer who gets drunk while off duty, but hear you read about it near EVERY DAY.

And what can we conclude from this?

Because they can compare them to REAL police in other nations.

I assume you mean "can't" there. Yes, of course, they, like the frog in the well, don't realize what is wrong in their world. And they blindly trust the police and give them too much power and not enough oversight.

Otoh, personally, I prefer the J-police to the hyper-aggressive, pumped up, militarized police of my own country.

Sure, once in a while you can read the news in other nations and see a story about a corrupt police officer, or an officer who gets drunk while off duty, but hear you read about it near EVERY DAY.

And what can we conclude from this?

That we need a separate Police Crimes section!

And jessebaybay, your friend must have been a real lightweight to be blind drunk at 0.18.. That should only be a couple of pints.

I'd give 5 to 1 odds the baby wasn't in a baby seat, either

That we need a separate Police Crimes section!

Why limit this to the police, or even crime, and have a general Derision and Contempt section?

Timtak: "And what can we conclude from this?"

That the standard of training and accepting police in Japan is sub-par at best. There's barely a day that goes by that you don't read of some utter disgraceful act, perversion, negligence, and/or drunk driving incident involving J-police.

Stranger: "I assume you mean "can't" there."

Actually, I meant can. In your comment that I quoted the last subject of the sentence was 'gaijin', so yes, we CAN compare them to police in other nations.

oikawa: "That we need a separate Police Crimes section!"

I've been saying this for years. That, or a combined 'Police/Crimes' section.

@Smith

I thought you were saying the Japanese can't compare the J-police to to police in other countries. My mistake.

Poor Gal !

That we need a separate Police Crimes section!

Why limit this to the police, or even crime, and have a general Derision and Contempt section?

Because the police would make-up 90% or more of the stories.

That the standard of training and accepting police in Japan is sub-par at best. There's barely a day that goes by that you don't read of some utter disgraceful act, perversion, negligence, and/or drunk driving incident involving J-police.

To paraphrase DoLittleBeLate, please somebody assure me that smithinjapan is aware of another explanation for the fact that police crimes make the headlines so often.

Regular Japanese people have plenty of respect for the police.

Not really, especially after the nuclear protests... Anyway most Japanese people don't question any authority. But that might have changed after Fukushima.

Let's see if we got this straight she's on maternity leave with her daughter who is five months old and she is hiding her depression with alcohol and I think she is breast-feeding so there'd be two drunk people in the car. Wow mom of the month. People if you need help speak up alcohol, drugs and stupidity doesn't do anybody any good. GET HELP it is safer for ALL

timtak: "To paraphrase DoLittleBeLate, please somebody assure me that smithinjapan is aware of another explanation for the fact that police crimes make the headlines so often."

So what's the other reason? I have a friend here who's a police officer and he's one of the greatest guys I know. He oft complains about the job and the red tape behind everything, but he's very down to earth, and I respect him. Needless to say, aside from listening to him talk about his job, I don't bad-mouth J-police to him directly, but we do talk about some of the problems with the system in an open way. That said, I still check in on this site daily and see daily reports of police absolutely going against what they stand for, and what they should be doing. I know it's not ALL police here, but there is a serious problem with recruiting when they let so many gropers, panty-thieves, drunks, and maniacs in. So again, I ask, which I have not asked my friend, what are the requirements to be an officer in Japan? Anyone can ride an old scooter with a tin box on the back, but is that all it takes?

SUMMIT: "Poor Gal !"

Yeah, poor gal. Getting drunk as a police officer, crashing her car while drunk, then fleeing the scene leaving her five month old baby behind! She deserves so much sympathy!

The concern is no, longer about her, it should now be about this child's well-being. One of her relatives should take this innocent baby in. In the meantime she should be reaching out for help, it's free and available can see it now child abuse. I know, that's a bit negative. You hear this everyday.

I have been finding raising a baby stressful and hid the stress from my husband by drinking.”..........................that makes a lot of sense, you think ?

Regular Japanese people have plenty of respect for the police. It's the gaijin that don't respect them.

I think you are confusing tatemae with plenty of respect.

Dumping the daughter and then running away? She also is breast feeding while drinking? This is such a serious case of child abuse, I hope the kid is taken away, she loses her job, goes to jail and spends the rest of her life thinking about it all.

If she was having problem, TALK TO THE HUSBAND! Don't hide it with booze.

Well, as far as recruiting goes, police generally don't get paid that much. And they can do some pretty nasty work. But there's no shortage of people who jump at the chance to slag off at them. I'm guessing a lot of police recruits have a high level of dedication to serving society, knowing that low pay and antipathy being solid facts to face once they join, assuming that they can join.

Never had any problems with the police in Japan. Back home either, except some of them tend to offer some unwanted advice and act more important than they actually are. Even so, they generally have my respect and my cooperation, both here and back in Japan.

Before making judgement on this woman, I'd like to know what her record is so far, how hectic her life is etc. She's not taking bribes or tipping off crims before a raid. Calls for jail are ridiculous. See what the facts are, then decide what should be done. Needs some time off or support by the sounds of it.

Calls for jail are ridiculous.

Say what? Drink driving, causing an accident through drink driving or careless driving, putting another's life, and worse a child's life, at serious danger, evading arrest, abandoning a 5 month old baby... what on earth do you want jail to be for?

I think you are confusing tatemae with plenty of respect.

I don't think so. The j-police are generally held in high regard and trusted by the average Japanese person. Just what I think from my personal observation.

You have any reason to think otherwise, besides the constant moaning about the j-police on this forum?

Reformed Basher: "Calls for jail are ridiculous."

How so? Did she break several laws or not?

"See what the facts are, then decide what should be done"

No, what YOU want is to see what the justifications are, as you said yourself ("how hectic her life is"). The FACTS are in the article in terms of what she did.

I'm just curious how many people feeling sorry for this woman would feel the same way if it were some ojisan who did the same thing. YES, she needs help, and should reach out for it -- the first is to pay for what she's done, and she should be charged by the letter of the law same as anyone else would be; none of this, "Awww... she's a mom... must be stressful" crap. Like I said earlier, I'm tired of hearing people automatically blame husbands or question justice when a woman commits a crime -- they are human beings as well, and as fallible as their male counter-parts, so why the special privilege in terms of thinking?

Stranger: "I thought you were saying the Japanese can't compare the J-police to to police in other countries. My mistake."

No worries, my friend. I should probably be clearer anyway.

Stranger: "I don't think so. The j-police are generally held in high regard and trusted by the average Japanese person. Just what I think from my personal observation."

I think you're correct, but it's limited to those who have never had any issue with the law, either as victim or aggressor. I'm pretty sure the umpteen hundreds who have called the police 20 times to complain about stalking before their daughter was killed by said stalker while the police did nothing have issues, for one of many, many examples. Or how about Ichihashi's police that let him walk out the back door? The woman molested the other day while the cops put the suspect in the back with an open door? I doubt very much these people hold a lot of respect for the uniform.

Stranger_in_a_Strange_LandJul. 10, 2012 - 12:33PM JST

What an embarrassment. No wonder police here can't command any respect.

Regular Japanese people have plenty of respect for the police. It's the gaijin that don't respect them.

AND FOR GOOD REASON!

Matthew SimonJul. 10, 2012 - 08:17AM JST

The legal limit for BAC in Japan is .03 so I assume that she had a .18 which is falling down drunk if I am not mistaken.

NOT FOR ME. ;-)

@Smith

Just the way it seems to me, as we have no concrete proof, but I think your group is far more limited. You are talking about a very small % of the population.

The Japanese people give their police a lot of power and little oversight...because they trust them. More than they should, obviously, but still they do trust them. Anybody involved in a police investigation is not really "innocent until presumed guilty", as Japanese tend to go with "where there is smoke, there is fire" more often.

Not sure why I'm getting the neg reps. It's not ME who trusts the police here, or anywhere or that matter, it's the Jeeple, the j-sheeple, who follow authority and rules unquestioningly all their lives. Of course, this is a generalization, but I think this is a very large majority of the populace, a strong national characteristic.

Stranger: "Just the way it seems to me, as we have no concrete proof, but I think your group is far more limited. You are talking about a very small % of the population."

Like I said -- limited to people who have actually had brushes with the law, be they victim or aggressor. Someone who has never had an encounter with the police might fully respect them because they've been taught to, as you are taught to respect umpteen dozen other things. But like when those other things slap you in the face for no reason, or don't do their jobs, there's no reason you need to show respect simply because you were taught to.

"Anybody involved in a police investigation is not really "innocent until presumed guilty", as Japanese tend to go with "where there is smoke, there is fire" more often."

BS. They will take who they think their suspect is and hold them in custody for days until the person signs a false confession -- that is well known and documented, and hence the 99% conviction rate, or whatever it is, guilty or not. I have seen police willfully ignore a crime in their direct vision and instead corner an old man on a bicycle and chide him for not having his light on. When I went to the police once to report a stolen bicycle for a friend instead of taking it seriously they started asking me if MY bicycle was registered, and since I bought it off the foreigner I took the place of they were ready to charge me until one of them, my friend, came in and recognized me and suddenly it was all fun and games.

"Not sure why I'm getting the neg reps."

Not me giving them to you. It's interesting though that you talk about how people here generally respect police and then call them "j-sheeple" later, as though proving my points. They respect the police because the police are supposed to protect them, but clearly in this case and many, many, many others they not only do NOT protect them, but harm them.

.03 seems pretty strict. Can't imagine what that would be, a beer 4 or 5 hours earlier? In the US, an on-duty airline pilot is within the regulation limit if he is .04.

BS. They will take who they think their suspect is and hold them in custody for days until the person signs a false confession

Nothing of what you said there goes against what I was saying. The populace will generally assume the person held by the police is guilty, hence the "where there is smoke, there is fire." Also, because they trust the police. Please, I'm not trying to argue with you or anyone else, don't feel the need to pick at my statements and try to start a disagreement.

It's interesting though that you talk about how people here generally respect police and then call them "j-sheeple"

Not sure why that would interesting, as far as proving your point somehow. We seem to having some kind of disconnect here. They respect the police, because they respect and follow, usually blindly, authority, because they are sheeple. Makes sense to me.

Also, Smith, don't project your beef with the police onto me or my comments, please. I'm not saying the police here are respectable. I'm not saying the general population should respect them.

I'm simply saying they do.

they same the limit is Zero but it really is .04

'm just curious how many people feeling sorry for this woman would feel the same way if it were some ojisan who did the same thing.

Because the ojisan probably won't lose his job, and doesn't have a baby and a husband that will suffer from it.

This stupid woman, who should have known better was not only drink driving risking the lives of other people but she was drink driving with her baby in the car. And when she did have an accident she runs away and leaves the baby there. I cannot believe people actually feel sorry for this woman. She should be charge, fired from her job and be checked out to see if she is actually a fit mother. Not only did she endanger her babies life but abandoned it while fleeing the scene of a crime, thats enough to lose custody in many other countries. Here she will no doubt apologise and get a slap on the wrist.

Stranger: "The populace will generally assume the person held by the police is guilty, hence the "where there is smoke, there is fire.""

My point was you assume there is smoke where there is none in many cases. And when there's a blazing fire the police ignore it in favour of chasing after what they perceive as fumes somewhere else -- it's less work that way.

Cos: "Because the ojisan probably won't lose his job, and doesn't have a baby and a husband that will suffer from it."

If he doesn't then it's exactly what I've been saying about the system -- corrupt and wrong. Either way, the woman is still a criminal and deserves to be fired at the very least, and jailed for a few months to a few years at best. And on the contrary to your reasoning, the fact that she is a woman and has a baby will no doubt get her off the hook in terms of charges, though she'll likely still lose her job. As to the baby and husband suffering from it, the former should be put into better care, and the latter, if not the better care himself, should seek at least sole custody of the child. Evidently mom cannot be trusted in the least.

Cletus: " I cannot believe people actually feel sorry for this woman."

Right? It's amazing... a guy will do this and people will (rightfully) nail him to the cross, but a WOMAN does it and it's all, "Where was the husband?" and crap like that.

Makes a change from flashing at passers-by, letting muggers duck out the back door and the like. She'll either get the boot or end up in a Hokkaido village with two old people and a cow.

I can't believe she left her child and legged it. Unforgivable.

So what..

Timtak: "Why limit this to the police, or even crime, and have a general Derision and Contempt section?"

Police would still need a special section of their own under 'ineptiude' and 'drunken shenanigans'. Heaven forbid we try to hold the police accountable to the laws they are supposed to uphold.

Its funny that every time a j-flop does something stupid and gets hammered for it by JT posters the usual heads pop up saying we shouldnt pick on them or if you dont like it leave etc etc. If cops in other countries carried on with the same capers and ineptitude as the useless flops do here there would be outrage left and right. I guess that just gets down to the typical Japanese mentality of not questioning or rocking the boat. Personally if someone does something stupid like this cop did they deserve all the derision they get and more. They afterall are the ones that are supposed to uphold the law.

Cletus: "Personally if someone does something stupid like this cop did they deserve all the derision they get and more."

Exactly. The worst part about this whole incident is her fleeing the scene and leaving her baby behind. Absolutely unbelievable. I hope at the very least, on top of prison time for this dumb woman, they take the baby away and never let her see it again. Anyone worrying about this woman for her crimes is simply foolish -- worry about the infant she decided to abandon to save herself!

Because the ojisan probably won't lose his job, and doesn't have a baby and a husband that will suffer from it.

If the ojisan was married, with children, his wife and kids would suffer too. Oh wait that's already happened countless times already.

Drunk driving is not limited to men.

I'm not condoning or trying to justify what this woman did, but I don't think the police deserve the ridicule they are getting from posters in this case. To me, it sounds like this woman made a very human mistake and she should be punished according to the extent of the law, but this is very different from J-cops stealing underwear or groping, or even police brutality or shooting unarmed citizens in other countries.

I am an outsider looking in. I have ZERO respect for this woman because I am a collateral victim of a drunk (and drugged) driver having lost my first with to him. I grew up being taught that Japanese people put "honor above all", so . . . Even though not on duty this woman was still a police officer and honor bound to be better than those around herself, but she not only disgraced herself but her employer and co-workers as well. She is lucky that she did not kill anyone especially her daughter. As for the excuse of postpartum depression, she's an officer of the law she should know how and where to receive help for that. Her husband is apparently a blind doofus, but to be fair she could have fooled him intentionally. The woman deserves all the punishment required by law. Now a little defense for her. She should also be evaluated to see if she is telling the truth about her condition, and if true she should be given all the treatment necessary to bring her back to a normal functioning person in society. I too have to question the quality of people selected to be police officers there as I have read far too many articles on this site about the wrong-doings of J-Police officers. Again what about the "honor above all" the Japanese people as so famous for? The very nature of being a police officer means that a person MUST be the best at all times in public whether on or off duty (and no domestic troubles at home either). So no sympathy from me until she does her penance and completes treatment.

Tahoochi: "To me, it sounds like this woman made a very human mistake and she should be punished according to the extent of the law, but this is very different from J-cops stealing underwear or groping, or even police brutality or shooting unarmed citizens in other countries."

The problem is that they do all that as well, and hence the ridicule. I mean come on... how many times have we heard of the police going to a crime scene and saying, "Okay, we'll wait out here while you conduct your business inside" only to read about how the suspect got out a back door or window? The incompetence here is simply unfathomable. I would sincerely like to say that said incompetency is the exception to the norm, but it seems like it's the norm and the exception is competence. Yes, this woman made five or six very human mistakes in one single incident, with leaving the baby being UNFORGIVABLE, but so do so many other J-cops, day after day, when they are supposed to be the ones upholding the law, not breaking it.

Because they can compare them to REAL police in other nations. Sure, once in a while you can read the news in other nations and see a story about a corrupt police officer, or an officer who gets drunk while off duty, but hear you read about it near EVERY DAY. Yesterday it was the police refusing to accept the complaint of a father whose son committed suicide due to bullying, and today it's yet another drunk driving police officer who got in an accident and tried to flee the scene.

Don't know why JT lets these type of comments through. It's clearly apparent that smith has no clue about "other nations".

http://www.asahi.com/national/update/0126/TKY201201260119.html

367 cases of police misconduct last year, which is basically one a day.

http://www.policemisconduct.net/

The "other nation". Everyday, everywhere, numerous places.

The only difference I see is that Japan reports it nationally while "other nation" gets reported locally. Hence, the "delusion" that there are more misconducts here than elsewhere.

This will sound awful and I'm also getting out of the matter but, if the baby girl goes to an orphanage she will have a worse life that with her drunk mother (or more or less the same...), and those orphanage kinds can't be easily adopted... a whole system with failures... but there's no perfect country.

fightingviking:

Well at least she didn't leave the baby alone at home - or in a locked car out in the sun...

No, she just left the baby on the ground and ran away. Yes, a very thoughtful and selfless woman.

nigelboy:

I think you're the one who's deluded.

Don't know why JT lets these type of comments through. It's clearly apparent that smith has no clue about "other nations

Even if Smith is wrong (we don't know because I sure as hell don't trust Japanese 'statistics'), he has not said anything obnoxious and he's only giving his opinion. Do you make it a point to address every single comment that does not put Japan in a good light?

silly story, and a plethora of insensitive remarks. oh woe is me.

the main point of concern is that the baby is ok.

All I can say is I pray for the safety of this precious little baby girl. I hope she is taken away permanently from this dangerous person who obviously does not love her. I'm guessing the woman must be borderline retarded to do something like this - I guess that is why she qualified as a J-Cop.

Lots of people here mocking a .18 BAC. I'm glad to see so many manly men in Japan, but let's be real. When was the last time you MEASURED at .18? I'm a pretty big guy at 6'2", 235 lbs, but I had a light buzz on when I was pulled over one time and blew a .06. A .18 would have ensured I wasn't driving that night even BEFORE the cops noticed me. And let's not forget that a .18 BAC in someone my size would mean a whole lot more alcohol was consumed than a typical Japanese woman reaching .18 BAC. She could reach .18 pretty quickly if she wanted to.

As for her job, I'd say we can probably assume she's not going to be asked back to work. DUI, Hit and Run, Reckless Endangerment of a Child, Child Abandonment... not the kinds of things you want in your employees when they are supposed to be the ones enforcing the laws.

Great post and links Nigelboy. When I post stuff like that - and I have in the past - it gets deleted as "off topic"!

I'm guessing the woman must be borderline retarded to do something like this - I guess that is why she qualified as a J-Cop

One of my students is a final interviews to be a Japanese police officer. He is an intelligent, physically active, and morally upstanding young man. It is by no means certain he will get the job because in these days of economic depression there is considerable competition. Read Nigel's statistics or google them, and realise. J-cops are good cops.

If cops in other countries carried on with the same capers and ineptitude as the useless flops do here there would be outrage left and right. This does not seem to be the case, to put it mildly. Please read Nigelboy's Cato Institute link or Google it. I fear that it has not been deleted due to the time of day at which it was posted. Balance is not valued here.

According to the Yomiuri Ms. MInamoto had 0.9 miligraphs of alcohol per litre of her blood with it is 6 times the　0.15 milligrams per litre of blood driving under the influence (shuuki obi unten lit.'driving with a whiff of alcohol') limit. 。

Nor too sure, my guess is that this woman must have many more problems than are being reported, not just having a new baby, but going this far out to get drunk, driving, leaving her baby out there after an accident?? We are only looking at the tip of the iceberg. My guess, her husband may also be causing much of this too. Just a hunch.

smithinjapan Jul. 10, 2012 - 05:28PM JST. Either way, the woman is still a criminal and deserves to be fired at the very least, and jailed for a few months to a few years at best.

You really want to stomp on her when she's down. No one is stating that poor judgement wasn't used. However, jumping to the conclusion that this was a DUI may have destroyed this women. Should she be held to a higher standard? Yes, absolutely. I think a bunch of people were quick to judge this woman. However, there should be a due process for a hearing and see what cause the problem. Police officers are human too and she might need professional help and she is entitled to fair hearing. She might've been on extreme stress with her job,her child or other matters. The society should help this women if she can be helped. She absolutely used poor judgement by excessive drinking and paid for that, but let her move on with her life. If this was her first time offense, it shouldn't cost her the opportunity to continue as a police officer if that is her specialty that she is trained for. She should be put on few years of probation and see if she can recover from this mess. Give her a second chance.

To me, it sounds like this woman made a very human mistake and she should be punished according to the extent of the law

A very human mistake? It was a willful act, and one that she better than others KNEW was both dangerous and against the law.

She is lucky that no one, particularly her baby, got hurt or worse killed.

Any accidents that occur from someone who is a drunk driver, should be considered to be premeditated, and the jail time and fines should increase appropriately.

Yubaru Jul. 11, 2012 - 05:37AM JST She is lucky that no one, particularly her baby, got hurt or worse killed. Any accidents that occur from someone who is a drunk driver, should be considered to be premeditated, and the jail time and fines should increase appropriately.

That could be said for thousands of drunk drivers every year in Japan or anywhere else. Point is she didn't kill anybody, she just got caught drunk. But average people on the first time offense do not lose their jobs and most get probation or slap in the wrist with a fine for their mistakes. Let her have a fair hearing.

Point is she didn't kill anybody, she just got caught drunk. But average people on the first time offense do not lose their jobs and most get probation or slap in the wrist with a fine for their mistakes.

Reckless endangerment is something that deserves something more than a slap on the wrist. Also she is not an average person by any means, she is (maybe was) a police officer, who SHOULD be held to higher standards.

Another thing, here in Japan Government employee's are not given the leisure of being average. They are, as well should be, held to a higher standard. First time offenders DO lose their jobs here depending upon the situation.

If she had been alone? Ok no loss of job, fine and the usual penalties, jail if she cant pay the fine, as is the norm here. BUT she wasnt alone, and as an officer of the law, she deserves to get the book tossed at her.

Yubaru...like you say, the J-cops are "held to a higher standard", then why is there so much report on police camera on upskirts of underage J-girls, drunk in public, drunk'n accidents, fightening, slapping women, indecent exposure, etc???

Yubaru...like you say, the J-cops are "held to a higher standard", then why is there so much report on police camera on upskirts of underage J-girls, drunk in public, drunk'n accidents, fightening, slapping women, indecent exposure, etc???

It says that the people that they hire, which is based almost solely on an entrance exam score, are not the type of people who should be cops. They MUST change their methods of hiring.

Oh and btw, there are plenty of "average" people who get nailed for the very same thing. It's just the cops must have figured that since they are cops they are not responsible. Arrogant plicks I believe.

Another ruined life due to bad judgement.

@Ebulda Mexicano,

Nor too sure, my guess is that this woman must have many more problems than are being reported, not just having a new baby, but going this far out to get drunk, driving, leaving her baby out there after an accident?? We are only looking at the tip of the iceberg. My guess, her husband may also be causing much of this too. Just a hunch.

I guess this woman has issues too, she's already mentioned she has. Whether the husband was at fault is only speculation, he could have been trying to help her.

Anyway, I'm not calling for her to get special treatment but before people cry out for a jail term, do non-police automatically get one? She hasn't killed anybody, even though that was a possibility. I think she is entitled to the same process as everybody else. Find out what her circumstances and what led to the incident. Then decide what to do. I don't feel sorry for her in particular but she is a parent and throwing her in jail won't make things right. You could just as easily prevent her from driving by other means. If she does have a history, or attempts drunk driving again, then she should be punished harshly though.

My point was you assume there is smoke where there is none in many cases

I never assumed that. Maybe you could go back and quote where I said that. What I said was if a person is being held by the police Japanese people will assume that person is probably guilty as in 'where there is smoke, there is fire.' (The smoke, in this case, is the being held by police part.)

This thread is hilarious. I got a minus seven on my first comment stating an obvious truth of this country. The Japanese, in general, respect and trust their police force. It's true. Regardless of whether the posters on JT respect them or not.

Heheh, so the lesson here is.......... don't trust female cops?

I am not a woman, nor can pretend to be a mom to my children, so I really can not understand how much stress this woman was going through, so as Reformed Basher states, yes, this woman and or her husband may have many problems and after getting pregnant and having a baby just complicated matters. I hope we never hear of this kind of news again, that this woman, her family all get the proper help they so badly need. Women are only human too, no matter how hitagh we want to put them up on a higher moral standards.

I am not a woman, nor can pretend to be a mom to my children, so I really can not understand how much stress this woman was going through, so as Reformed Basher states, yes, this woman and or her husband may have many problems and after getting pregnant and having a baby just complicated matters

None of which excuses in any way shape or form premeditatedly drink driving, with a child in the back, trying to evade legal apprehension, and abandoning her own child.

ok, maybe it's not a "silly" story; i didn't mean to make light of the dangerous nature of the acts of this mother, who happens to be a police officer.

on the other hand, she wasn't on duty, and though she obviously showed extremely poor judgment, how she and other police officers are also human.

one can only wonder how the people with whom she had been drinking let her get behind the wheel of a car.

smithinjapanJul. 10, 2012 - 10:56PM JST

I would sincerely like to say that said incompetency is the exception to the norm, but it seems like it's the norm and the exception is competence.

That's an interesting perception Smith. It sounds like you're opinion is based solely on reading articles like this in the crime section. Do you think that they will ever print the fact that most J-cops out there are doing their jobs everyday? Of course not, because that's expected of them. We don't thank them for doing their jobs day in and day out, but ridicule the entire organization when a few of them screw up. Well at least I've never heard of a citizen dying at the hands of an on-duty cop, like the countless cases in other countries.

YubaruJul. 11, 2012 - 05:37AM JST

A very human mistake? It was a willful act, and one that she better than others KNEW was both dangerous and against the law.

That's where you're jumping to conclusions. Her statements to the police point to alcoholism and depression, and those two illnesses can hamper one's ability to make reasonable judgements. Now again, I'm not saying that she deserves leniency or sympathy, I'm just saying that this sounds to me like a woman, mother, and wife who forgot her social role and responsibility as a citizen and cop, and made some terrible mistakes, thus, why the comments ridiculing the police in general?

I would prefer that rather than jail time she gets what she really needs....help.

@Tahoochi

Bravo for your comments.

Well at least I've never heard of a citizen dying at the hands of an on-duty cop, like the countless cases in other countries

There was a case a while back but it was a misunderstanding and could have happened anywhere.

I've never had any problems with any cops anywhere I've ever been.

I try to keep my nose clean. And when, in my youth, I failed in that endeavor, because I also tried -- and was all too often quite successful -- to drink a lot , I was always treated fairly.

That included a night in the drunk tank in my hometown, and a little visit the main police box in Sannomiya, near the JR station

Now that I am a little older, I look back on the rules I set for myself when I first arrived in Japan and happily find them sound:

Keep your nose clean, foreign boy, and if you don't, you have no one to blame but yourself.

Ahh, another day, another Japanese police story. It's funny. Back in the United States, whenever I saw the cops, I felt some sense of authority emanating from the officers. Deadly, trained officials with advanced equipment. Not to be messed with. Today, when I was walking home from work, I saw 4 police cars lined up in my neighborhood, and I felt NOTHING, due to how incompetent ,and corrupt they appear on the news. Turns out they were apprehending three drunk middle schoolers... no idea why they needed 4 cars for that.

attempted to flee the scene with her daughter

Wow... I mean, there is really something wrong with these JCops. If they're not firing warning shots off into the air in densely populated areas, they're taking up-skirt pictures or feeling up school girls...

At the very least, they need to disarm these bands of fools before somebody gets hurt.

@Bob Sneider

Ahh, another day, another Japanese police story. It's funny. Back in the United States, whenever I saw the cops, I felt some sense of authority emanating from the officers. Deadly, trained officials with advanced equipment. Not to be messed with. Today, when I was walking home from work, I saw 4 police cars lined up in my neighborhood, and I felt NOTHING, due to how incompetent ,and corrupt they appear on the news. Turns out they were apprehending three drunk middle schoolers... no idea why they needed 4 cars for that.

Couldn't agree more... A few months ago, while walking home around 7:30pm, I saw a cop car parked side-ways, blocking off the road, with both doors open, flashers going, both 3-million candle-power spot-lights on... From a block away, I though, wow... what's going on... Car-Jacker..? High-Speed pursuit caught..? Bank-Robber...? As I walked up, I noticed only one salary-man, dressed in suit, getting his bicycle registration papers checked... Unbelievable.... Only in Japan...