What to Do If You Have a Stalker in Japan

I’m not happy that I have experience with stalkers in Japan, but I might as well make something useful of it since I have the knowledge…hope this helps someone.

What do you do if you have a stalker in Japan? GO TO THE POLICE! As a foreigner living in Japan, I realize how troublesome and nerve-wracking in can be to go to the police, but it has to be done. No excuses. Obviously, if you can speak Japanese, you can go by yourself, but whether you are good at Japanese or not, I still recommend bringing a Japanese person (preferably man) with you anyway whether it’s a friend, coworker, significant other, etc. It’s kind of depressing, but I feel like you will be taken more seriously this way. Also, obviously if you can’t speak Japanese, you will need someone who can speak both languages to help translate. Don’t count on someone at the police station being able to speak English. Also, I discourage bringing another foreigner with you who is fluent in both languages. Bring a Japanese person.

EXPECT THE ORDEAL TO TAKE 3+ HOURS!!! This is not a quick in an out process. Bring a bottle of water, your identification, and make sure the person you bring with you has something to do to kill time when you have to speak one on one with the police (if you have no Japanese ability, they might let your translator come in to the one on one talk, but I don’t know).

What can the police do for you? This depends on whether or not you know who the stalker is and what they have done. Let’s go over a few scenarios.

Best Scenario: You know who the stalker is (and you have some way for the police to identify him/her such as a license plate number, address, name, phone number, or workplace), and they have done something threatening like tried coming to your home or workplace, physically harassed you, sent you messages, vandalized something of yours, sent you bad things in the mail and so on. In this situation, police can contact the stalker and perhaps even arrest him.

Another Scenario: You know who the stalker is, but they have only been following you are showing up at public places you often go to. In this situation, the police won’t contact them or take any action against them. This makes me angry because basically you must wait until the stalker actually does something bad to you before the police will step up. There are some things they can do for you though.

 In most scenarios, they will file a report, and if you give them permission, they will call your work for you and explain the situation so your boss will know what’s going on and can be cautious about giving your name out to anyone who might call, etc. Also, they will give you a little lesson on how to be safe like don’t walk alone at night, don’t stare at your cell phone or listen to music while walking alone, be sure to look behind you and be aware of your surroundings, call the police first before anyone else if you see the stalker, don’t open your door to strangers because the stalker might be getting someone else to open the door for them, carry a buzzer with you (the police will most likely give you one, but you can also buy one yourself), and use it if you see the stalker, don’t go anywhere you have a chance of running into the stalker, etc. A lot of it is common sense, but they might mention something you didn’t think of. Also, in most scenarios, if you’ve filed a report with the police, you will be able to call the police any time and say only your name and your file number (I’m still a little foggy on how you get this number, so ask when you go), and they will come to your house immediately because they have your address and situation on file. Obviously if you aren’t at home when you see the stalker, you should say the place you are at, too. Also, this only works if you are around the area of the police station you went to. For example, if you are traveling or in a different city, they won’t have your information on file.

Worst Scenario: You have no idea who the person is. Obviously if you can give a good description of the person looks like, that’s great. If it’s just a creepy person who’s been following you, the police will probably just give you a buzzer and safety lecture and send you on your way. If the person has done something threatening like trying to enter your home, along with the lecture and buzzer, they will file a report, contact your work for you, and hopefully patrol around the area you live more. They might call you to check in with you a week or so after you go to the police station. Unfortunately, if you don’t who the stalker is, there isn’t much they can do. I still think it’s important you go to the police though. Being quick and proactive in stalker situations is necessary. You don’t want to have to live in fear!

Be safe, be smart, take action. Thanks for reading.