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Comment by evoxed | Hacker News Reader

Yep. The only downside is that if a policeman is in a bad mood you may get stopped and checked to make sure you aren't a thief. Only heard of it happening to foreigners (not myself though) but it's a good idea to keep a card in your wallet or a photo of your registration (which is actually a really good idea for anyone traveling/living abroad: if you can keep them in a safe/encrypted place, carrying a photo of your passport, gaijin card, etc. is a pretty good idea in case you put on the wrong pants one day).

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I imagine that just the fear of being stopped by an officer would deter people from buying stolen bikes, thus effectively making stealing bikes much less valuable.

I'm in Tokyo and I got stopped twice by police officers wanting to check my bike, on a 3 month period (I do 2 rides of 30 mins a day). For basically no reason (other than being a foreigner in a country where the police is racist?)

Many places in Japan are basically bike theft free. I used to live in a town in Kansai where people just left the bikes in the train station for their commutes without any kind of locks, and just found them in the evening when they were back. I was completely amazed by this. In Tokyo they mostly used basic locks that came with the bike, not sure what's the situation now, a decade later.

Now, some "gaijin" saw a business opportunity there and basically this level of safety is over in most big cities. I think it's totally understandable that they target foreigners. Japan is one of the safest places in the world and they want it to remain that way.

Do you have any evidence it was a 'gaijin' or is that just racism?

If you are < 30 then it's not racism. It's profiling. The fact of the matter is that most young foreigners in Tokyo are complete hooligans. They're there because their families are on business or in the military. They freely roam one of the world's largest cities with almost no fear of the police. And, yes, they steal bikes with impunity, amongst other things.

Even if you do get stopped for genuine wrong-doing, the worst that happens is you get a talking to or a citation at the nearest kōban. Better yet, if you learn even the tiniest bit of Japanese that will generally set the policeman at ease.

I've been stopped numerous times as well. I am ethnically Japanese and speak Japanese as well. Usually this happens to me after the trains have stopped running and while I'm stopped at a light anyways.

This has stopped recently though... I am wearing a cycling kit, switched to a road bicycle, and riding in traffic. So likely I've dropped out casual thief profile.

Foreigners want to buy cheap bikes because they don't stay long, they are not sure to resell bike when they leave and they usually take the bike back with them. Stolen bikes are cheap.

That sounds like a very minor inconvenience. Just keep proof of ownership with you and the problem is solved? After all, the only way the system can work, is if it's actually policed.

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