EU Tightens Deportations as Japan Stews Over Foreign Crime and Lenient Authorities

Why This Topic Landed in Japan

Discontent over public safety and institutions amid rising inbound tourism and foreign residents has been building, and the EU's crackdown was received as a model of "the correct way to do things." When domestic cases that read as "only foreigners get arrested," "the prosecution was dropped," and "the police hid nationality" surfaced in the same period, they were consumed together within a framework of distrust over "favoritism toward / reverse discrimination for foreigners."

Key Reaction Themes

• "Japan should follow" — Welcoming the EU's tightening and criticizing Japan's slow politics and administration.
• Distrust of authorities and the judiciary — Reading the dropped prosecution and removed nationality labels as "cover-up" and "letting foreigners off," with anger at prosecutors, police, and local government.
• Fear of a migration chain — Wariness that migrants shut out of Europe and the US will pick Japan as their next refuge.

What Japanese Netizens Are Saying

EU Parliament Tightens Deportation of Undocumented Migrants

The European Parliament passed what was called the strictest-ever deportation rules, spreading "Japan should follow" sentiment.

Comments:

• "The reality of a multicultural coexistence society, lololol."
• "Japan, just do it too 👺."
• "This right here is the correct way the world should be."
• "We should learn from the West—it'll be too late otherwise."
• "Japan, which always follows the West late, won't do anything that doesn't make money."
• "In the end they just want to be carried by welfare and never intended to work, so let's send such people back to the homelands where they'll be more comfortable."
• "The scariest thing is that the migrants who flee from this might plausibly pick Japan as their refuge—that's what frightens me."
• "Japan is slow to decide 👺."
• "Why does our country keep wanting to go backwards? There's even a precedent, so just learn from it."

Chinese Smuggling Case: Company Executive and Wife Arrested

A company executive and his wife were arrested for smuggling Chinese nationals into Japan, prompting calls for an anti-spy law and stricter immigration control.

Source: 2ch

Comments:

• "Aren't all the arrestees foreigners?"
• "There isn't a single Japanese person among the cast of characters."
• "Aren't these naturalized citizens?"
• "Are Chinese people nothing but criminals?"
• "These guys really never do anything good. Don't come to Japan."
• "Hurry up with the anti-spy law!"
• "They need to make entry and exit screening much stricter."
• "Is this some babysitting service for wealthy Chinese?"
• "Look at the name and you can clearly tell they're a spy, lol."

Angolan National's Sexual-Assault Prosecution Dropped

The Tokyo District Prosecutors dropped the case against an Angolan national accused of non-consensual sexual assault, citing a witness becoming unavailable, sparking judicial distrust.

Sources: Yahoo! news, JIJI.COM

Comments:

• "The only Angola I know is (the comedian) Angola-mura-chō."
• "They keep pulling stupid stunts—arrest the prosecutors instead."
• "The judiciary is way too dumb, lol."
• "Thanks a lot, 'Liberal Immigration Party' (a jab at the LDP)."
• "It's because the LDP let migrants in."
• "So buying off the witness is cheaper than legal fees, then."
• "Politicians, police, prosecutors, judges, lawyers: 'We can't speak English, so let's just let foreigners off scot-free.'"
• "Pretty soon even if they kill someone, foreigners will get a non-prosecution."
• "This is seriously over."

Ibaraki Police Drop the "Foreign National" Tag From Arrest Records

Ibaraki Prefectural Police stopped using the "foreign national" label in arrest information on their site, drawing criticism that "there's no way to know about foreign crime anymore."

Comments:

• "Right at the timing the Shimotsuma mayor was 'taken out'…"
• "Pressure from the LDP? lololol."
• "Ibaraki's reputation is in tatters, lol."
• "This affects immigration policy, doesn't it? lololol—obviously, lol."
• "Did Ibaraki police lose to some self-styled 'citizens' group'?"
• "Is it the governor's instruction? The reporting system is just a pressure valve; the ones actively bringing them in are the administration and the business lobby, right?"
• "The whole modus operandi looks like a cartel's retaliation after being cracked down on hard."
• "Thanks, 'Liberal Immigration Party' that refused to disclose a lawmaker's naturalization history."
• "Should I phone my protest to the prefectural police? Or call the prefectural office directly?"