So you’re out enjoying a night in Japan, drinking at an izakaya or bar, when a tipsy salaryman — or perhaps a Frenchman angry over a ¥500 bento — decides to start trouble. Words escalate, and before you know it, fists are flying. Your instinct might be to defend yourself, but is that legally considered self-defense in Japan? The answer might surprise you. This article explores how self defense laws in Japan work based on legal precedents and the law as written.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The author and publisher are not responsible for any actions taken based on this content. For legal advice, please consult a qualified attorney.
- Arrest Risks in Physical Altercations
- Legal Consequences of Fighting Back
- High Threshold for Self-Defense
- Foreign Nationals and Legal Implications
- How to Protect Yourself
- Summary
Arrest Risks in Physical Altercations
In Japan, getting into a fight can lead to serious legal consequences. Even if someone attacks you first, retaliating may result in both parties’ arrest. When the police arrive at the scene of a violent altercation, they are likely to detain both individuals if the situation appears to be mutual combat.
This contrasts sharply with “stand your ground” laws in the United States, where individuals in some states can use force, including lethal force, to defend themselves without a duty to retreat. In Japan, the expectation is often the opposite: avoiding or de-escalating a conflict is strongly preferred, and authorities scrutinize the use of force under strict conditions.
Legal experts emphasize that when an altercation escalates into a series of attacks and counterattacks, it generally doesn’t count as self-defense. For self-defense to apply, the initial attack must pose an immediate and life-threatening danger. Otherwise, the law views the situation as mutual violence.
Legal Consequences of Fighting Back
If you engage in violent actions — even as an act of self-defense — you could face serious charges:
- Assault: If your actions do not result in injury, you may still be charged with assault, which carries penalties of up to two years in prison, a fine of up to ¥300,000, or detention.
- Injury: If your actions cause physical harm to the other person, you could face up to 15 years in prison or a fine of up to ¥500,000.
The Japanese Penal Code defines these offenses as follows:
- Article 204: “A person who causes another person to suffer injury is punished by imprisonment for not more than 15 years or a fine of not more than ¥500,000.”
- Article 208: “A person who commits an act of assault is punished by imprisonment for not more than two years, a fine of not more than ¥300,000 or detention.”
Even if the other party started the altercation, the difficulty of isolating a single act of violence means that both parties are often held responsible.
High Threshold for Self-Defense
Under Article 36 of the Japanese Penal Code, self-defense is narrowly defined:
- Self-defense is permissible only to protect yourself or others from imminent and unlawful harm.
- The response must be unavoidable and proportionate to the threat.
For example, hitting an attacker with a metal bat might seem like self-defense if the attacker approached you with a knife. However, the validity of your actions would depend on factors such as the size of the knife, the proximity of the attacker, and why you chose to use a bat. A comprehensive legal review would evaluate these circumstances to determine whether your actions were justified.
In a case that reached the Supreme Court of Japan, an individual was charged with assault claimed self-defense after counterattacking their victim’s retaliation. The court ruled that because the victim’s response was proportionate and immediate, the accused’s subsequent actions could not qualify as self-defense. It seems obvious since the initial attacker is getting in trouble here.
However, even if self-defense is established, excessive force may result in reduced or waived punishment rather than complete exoneration.
In another example, the “victim” committed several assaults in the “counterattack,” causing injury. The court considered their entire counterattack a single crime of injury through excessive self-defense. The circumstances leading to the injury favored the accused — even if you defend yourself legally, you can still get in trouble.
Foreign Nationals and Legal Implications
Click here to read more.
- External Link
- https://gaijinpot.com/
23 Comments
Login to comment
GBR48
quote: What are self-defence laws in Japan?
They are fairly rubbish, doubly victimising victims of crime, as in most other countries. The law is not there to deliver justice or to protect you, but to divide society between those in uniform acting on behalf of the state (who are empowered to act) and the rest (who are not).
This is why so many women in Japan get abused. And why so many Japanese people scamper away from any aggro, rather than stepping in.
Emulate them. Do not be a 'have-a-go hero'. In most countries that will end badly. Definitely so in Japan. Your life in not a Hollywood movie or kdrama. In the real world, the perpetrator/abuser is more likely to come out on top. Particularly if they are connected.
So avoid conflict. It's not cowardice. You are up against both the threat of being hurt and the power of a mechanised legal process. You may defeat one, but you are unlikely to defeat both. The bad guys win. It's a bad world (and getting worse). Deal with it and survive.
Japantime
I’ve never seen a Japanese person get angry. Most fights are caused by foreigners not understanding Japanese language and customs. There is an old saying “When in Rome”.
Hawk
When it's between a Japanese person and a foreign person, whoever wins, the foreigner loses. If there's trouble, as Miyagi san said, "The best defense is no be there."
Obviously, it depends on the circumstances though. Personally, I'd take a stretch or a fine if it meant protecting myself or a loved one from an assault, attack, beating or worse.
virusrex
News reports clearly contradict this claim you make, a vast majority of the violent altercations being reported involve only national, which would be a natural consequence of the much smaller number of foreigners.
Jay
Interesting article, but honestly, in certain situations, it's irrelevant. If anyone ever seriously threatened me or my family - no ifs or buts about it - violence will be the response. Better to be judged by six than carried by nine.
Desert Tortoise
Lolololol ! Click on the Crime tab of this very publication to see how wrong you are.
wallace
I will do whatever it takes to protect myself and my wife.
girl_in_tokyo
This is also why women don't hit or punch chikan - it can be seen as aggression, not self-defense. What they expect is for the woman to endure it and call the police afterwards. After all, is your life in danger when a man is groping you? The police don't recognize extreme terror or fear of rape as equal to your life being in danger.
I personally know a woman who defended herself against a man who followed her out of the station and groped her - she punched him, managed to get him down on the ground, and called the police. But when the police arrived, she was then arrested.
In the end she wasn't charged because she was smart enough to agree to apologize and let it go. If she had tried to insist on her right to defend herself or press charges against her attacker, she'd be in jail and the chikan would have been out walking the streets attacking other women, secure in the knowledge the law would protect him.
The police prefer to let the two parties apologize to one another than pressing charges, so if you're given this option, take it.
girl_in_tokyo
JapantimeToday 07:57 am JST
If you watched the video at the top of the article, then this is not true - clearly, the video shows a drunk and violent Japanese man who tried to fight the police.
I don't quite understand why you feel the need to promote the idea that Japanese people never get angry, never fight, and are never violent. Maybe if you think about it more carefully and objectively, you'll see what a wongheaded idea it is.
toolonggone
That’s a very dubious statement about your never having seen a Japanese person get angry, not to mention, that it’s pretty racist to claim most fights are caused by foreigners.
toolonggone
It’s the mythologizing of Japanese that some foreigners feel the need to do. You’re right about it being wrongheaded because of course, it is wrong and requires a suspension of reality. It also does nothing but dehumanize the very people posters like Japantime would claim to love. Treat people like they’re something more than human and they’re bound to disappoint you sooner or later.
toolonggone
You can try approaching her and acting as if you know her. You can ignore the other person while subtly letting her know you’re there for her and see what happened. That approach may scare off the criminal while not escalating the situation.
You can also not-so-subtly video what’s happening. Calmly let the criminal know you’re videoing his actions and will be going to the police with the evidence.
Neither may be as satisfying as getting all up in the criminal’s business or even getting physical with him, but the methods are geared towards keeping you and the victim safe while stopping the attack.
GuruMick
Having two posts deleted on this already....I,ll just say I enjoy Japan because of the LACK of "aggro He Man " types full of beer, all too common in Australia and UK.
Established rules in the surf beaches around here are also a good thing }long boards here, short boards here, beginners there }.
Violence begets violence....niceness begets niceness.
All good in my hood
Hawk
toolonggone,
Appreciated. Your correct point being that all you really need to do is draw attention to the behaviour, as the perpetrator is banking on the victim not reacting.
SDCA
Yes, because in a situation between life or death, we all get to hit start, go to the menu screen, look at our inventory, choose a bat to use against the attacker, hit start to resume, notice the attacker is using a smaller knife, hit start again, choose a sasumata because this best suits this scenario and you have it in your inventory, hit resume. Now use that pole to not harm the aggressor, but to keep them from getting closer. Continue to do this until you have reached a Koban to which you may now report this incident without any legal repercussions on your end. After the Koban has dealt with this aggressor and some time has passed, the aggressor is now free to go since the person has inflicted no harm and thus doesn't receive a long prison sentence. The aggressor now wants revenge and is coming back to finish what he had started. Repeat the same process even if the aggressor now has a much more lethal weapon.
GuruMick
A kind word turns away wrath.
Works inside and out.
Thinking of something nice about someone you have conflict with turns away your anger.
Saying something nice or apologetic to someone has the same affect in them.
Unsure of utility of this info. in bar fight in Oz.
virusrex
The point of the example is not that people need to put pause to evaluate with plenty of time one out of many different options so you can react with the optimal one always. The example is there to explain how something that feels natural and simple to do can lead to serious consequences for which the person should be prepared beforehand.
In a way is better to know in advance that being attacked is likely going to result in legal problems for the victim when it is necessary to defend against that attack, and maybe to make it clear that running away (when possible) should be the first option to consider to avoid those problems.
This can help someone that may think grabbing a weapon of opportunity is always justified and will let you go consequences free if attacked.
Zaphod
Japantime
Seriously? You can´t have been here very long. I agree that the threshhold for violence is pretty high here, but it does happen.
Does that not depend on the area and people you are talking about? I am pretty sure you are right if you mean the vicinity of US military bases, but otherwise I doubt it.
bass4funk
Most people see me and just walk the other way, so thankfully, I never have to worry about someone doing anything to me. I only got into one fight since I have been here, and that was back in 2000, I can take care of myself just fine, and getting into any altercation is just not even a thought, my wife and kids can take care of themselves also, so that is one piece of mind that I feel good about here in Japan. Fukuoka is very chill; I stay away from drunk guys, the low-confidence guy who walks around as if he is looking for a scrap, and the occasional Yakuza who might get in his head to say something he shouldn't, I stay away from loud Germans, Brits, Aussies and Americans as well as military jarheads, I try not to stay out past 2 am, nothing ever good happens at that time and I'm good to go.
Some dude
I can't even conceive of the idea of getting into an altercation here. Barring extreme bad luck, you'd have to know a) where to look, and b) how to wind people up enough to get it to kick off.
And as a foreigner, I can't see the cops ever taking our side even if a yanki attacked us outside a koban and we used the most restrained method possible to dissuade him. It would still be "that violent gaijin".
itsonlyrocknroll
On my first US business trip, a number of my US customer colleagues had concealed personal sound alarms, pepper sprays, mini hand held stun guns.
I enquired if they ever needed to engage an assailant?
Not once did they need to produce such devices, they were advised to "arm" themselves by self proclaimed protection advisers!
The only Izakaya altercation I have ever witnessed, few and far between, were alcohol fuelled bill related, somewhat noisy big girl blouse bellowing side shows that patrons deescalated quickly.
Once the police become involved, they could well be less than accommodating to let the matter pass especially if fists or handbags are waved/thrown in anger.
wallace
I go about my day, and my night, in a non-descriptive fashion that most people don't even notice me. I don't confront people and remain quiet and calm. I'm a nobody going about his day. No aggro in three decades.
itsonlyrocknroll
wallace, inspired master po advice, for a young student,
"Patience grasshopper"
"lt is my thoughts that carry the weight, master. l have been in the marketplace. All the men there argue and fight. There is no peace"
'Do you hear the grasshopper which at your feet?