Why This Topic Landed in Japan
How Japan admits foreigners and handles foreign crime is a running argument, so three high-charge stories arriving at once—an infectious-disease scare at the border, a fraud case dropped, and inmate conditions—amplified existing distrust and got tied together. But the cases are independent, and on their own they do not add up to a general pattern of foreigners being treated leniently. The foot-and-mouth virus was found and stopped at quarantine, so there is nothing establishing that the carry-in was deliberate. The fraud case was dropped with prosecutors saying only that they weighed "the substance of the relevant evidence," and the reason was not made public, so it cannot be concluded that the outcome turned on the man's nationality. And the prison's religious meals and private cells may well be a facility-management and reasonable religious-accommodation measure rather than a special favor.
Key Reaction Themes
- Hostility toward Chinese people and foreigners in general (most common) — The largest strand of the reaction moved off the specific incidents to generalize about Chinese people or foreigners as a whole and to demand harsh punishment or exclusion.
- Distrust of the courts and the authorities — A substantive strand focused on process: prosecutors not disclosing why the case was dropped, the border screening being too loose, and doubts about the courts.
- Taxes and priorities — Others objected to taxpayers funding inmate conditions and argued the money should go elsewhere, such as school lunches.
- Institutional context (a minority) — A smaller thread credited quarantine for stopping the virus and noted that inmate meals and cells can be a facility-management measure rather than favoritism.
What Japanese Netizens Are Saying
Foot-and-mouth virus found in meat at New Chitose Airport
Foot-and-mouth virus was found in meat a passenger carried in on a flight from Beijing, and was stopped at quarantine.
【速報】空港検疫で感染性のある口蹄疫ウイルス確認 47news.jp/14919684.html?…
Sources: Yahoo! news, 2ch
Comments:
- "What's going on with the departure inspections?"
- "Raw meat is obviously banned from being carried in… it's reasonable to assume it was deliberate."
- "Why is it OK to take it out of China in the first place?"
A Chinese man's fraud case dropped without charges
A man arrested over a 5-million-yen scam against an elderly woman was released without charges.
オレオレ詐欺が不起訴って、さすがにやばいだろ。 ↓ ・警察官になりすまして高齢女性から現金500万円をだまし取ったとして逮捕された中国籍の男（27）が、東京地検で不起訴になった ・報道では、男は警察官を装って電話をかけたとされている。いわゆる「かけ子」 Show more
警察官をかたって、沖縄県内在住の80代女性から現金500万円をだましとったとして、6月に詐欺容疑で逮捕されていた、 東京都在住の中国籍無職の男（27）が 今回不起訴処分となる。 これ「地下銀行」で、特殊詐欺事件の被害金のマネーロンダリングが行われた可能性があるって以前報じられていたけど。 Show more
Sources: Yahoo! news
Comments:
- "Prosecutors don't want to take cases they can't win."
- "Japan's justice system is dead."
- "We need a body to police judicial negligence. Whoever drops a case like this should be found guilty themselves."
A viral clip on how foreign inmates are treated
A clip claiming foreign inmates get religious meals and private cells spread online.
勝手に日本に入って来て犯罪を犯し、 刑務所に収監された外国人。 日本人は通常4人部屋だが、外国人受刑者はトラブルを避けて別館で個室部屋。 フローリングでベッドにテレビまである。 そして1日3食の食事。 これ全て我々、日本人の税だよ？ Show more
「豚肉、私食ベナイ、イラン人、食ベナイ」 受刑者の4人に1人が外国人という例の府中刑務所。 「パン食」「豚禁食」「別盛り」という専用のフダまで作られ、信仰に最大限配慮。 さらに外国人受刑者は個室、ベッド、フローリングで暮らしているとのこと（一般受刑者はもちろん雑居房）。 Show more
Comments:
- "And on top of that, they've barely paid any taxes."
- "Prison is a resort built with tax money."
- "I wonder if the law being soft on criminals is connected to politicians being soft on themselves."
- "Spend the money on school lunches rather than on foreign criminals."
