I hope to convey a sense of seeing the good in the police even during today’s interrogation, and I will try to keep that in mind.
Interrogation starts at 10 AM. After lunch, interrogation resumes at 1:30 PM. This goes on every day for a month. No visits from family, no exchange of letters. This is the reality of interrogation culture in Japan that I want to share with the world.
Honestly, it wasn’t that tough for me. I have decent communication skills, and even though I remained silent about the case, I made small talk. However, for some people, this could amount to torture. The only real stress was the lack of time to read books due to the long interrogations. The complete absence of private time was the hardest part. Being detained under the presumption of innocence can be seen as a restriction on freedom.
Perhaps the reason it wasn’t that tough for me was thanks to the two detectives in charge. Setting aside the content of their interrogations, they were fundamentally kind and loyal to the organization. While this should be the norm, there are also those in the police who, during a raid, threatened to arrest me if I didn’t sign the prepared statement. So, there are indeed all kinds within the police organization.
The detention officers who sent me to the interrogations were genuinely considerate, worrying about the length and frequency of my interrogations each time they sent me off. I felt such a sense of relief that I found myself saying “I’m back” when returning to my cell. They were also loyal to the organization and handled the detainees with care. Occasionally, there were officers who seemed to forget their position, but they were rare and negligible.
By now, the CEO of the payment processing company, who was recently arrested, is probably going through the same ordeal.
In conclusion, I want to emphasize that I make a strict distinction between the internal organization of the police and the individual officers within it.
毎日1日2回の取り調べ
今日の内容は、警察の中でも良いところを見たという感じになればと思い、心掛けてみよう。
朝10時、取調べ開始。昼食をとって昼1時半にまた取調べ開始。それが毎日1ヶ月。家族にも会えないし、手紙のやり取りもできない。これが日本の取調べ文化であることを世界に発信しておく。
実際にキツかったかというと、正直なところ、そこまでキツくはなかった。僕はね。コミュニケーション力も多少あるし、黙秘といえども世間話くらいはしたよ。だけど、人によっては拷問となり得るのではないだろうか。また、取調べが長くて本を読む時間が取れずにストレスを感じたことだけはここの残しておく。プライベートな時間が一切ない生活が続いた。ただ身柄を取るだけの推定無罪の勾留は自由系だと言える。
僕がそこまでキツくなかったというのは対応してくれた刑事二人のおかげもあるかもしれない。彼らの取調べ内容は内容は側に置くとして、根が優しく組織に従順な人達だったと思う。それが当たり前でなければならないのだが、強制捜査時に、用意された供述書にサインしないと逮捕するとおどした刑事もいるくらいだから、警察組織の中にも魑魅魍魎いるのだろう。
取調べに送り出してくれた留置職員は本当に気遣いの素晴らしい方々で、僕の取調べ時間や回数を心配して毎回送り出してくれた。取調べから留置内に戻る時はつい「ただいま」と呟いてしまうほど安心感があった。彼らもまた組織に従順で被留置人の身柄の取り扱いについては丁寧だった思う。まれに、何か立場を履き違えてものを言う職員もいたが存在を無視できるレベルである。
今頃、新たに逮捕された決済代行会社の代表者も同じ目に遭っているだろうなぁ。
最後に警察組織の内部組織とその職員に対する評価は厳密に分けているつもりであると言って締める。
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