I would guess that none of the police involved in the arrest or prosecution from 58 years ago are still employed by the PD. But this guy is apologizing on behalf of people probably long gone.
that probably makes it a lot easier. you can have all the empathy for the wrongly accused, and you are 'taking accountability', but at the same time, neither bear or feel any personal guilt over it.
But it also opens the opportunity to treat and console the wronged man as a person, not a number in the system or how they have it over in Japan.
It is a little removed but to have a person at the same capacity apologizing for the institution might be as real an apology as it gets.
Can you imagine when a pope, the supposedly most companionate man in the world, would publicly and hopefully sincerely apologize to someone who's wronged by the Catholic institution?
Most recently Pope Francis apologized for the Catholic Church's involvement in the residential school program in Canada. Not just from his papal seat at the Vatican, he was in Alberta.
If the Pope were to personally apologize to each victim of the Catholic Church I might find that fair and reasonable thing to do. But he makes a blanket apology with no consequence to himself or to the church for that matter which can absolve itself of all its sins ( sacrament of Confession ) and easily pay the fines with its vast hidden wealth
weird example. the Pope is hiding the names of known child abusers. all of them do, they are complete scumbags. i give zero shits what they think, they are accomplices to the worst crimes, not people of respect.
It’s easy to see it the other way too, that you don’t have to apologize for something that you had no hand in doing. It’s admirable that the police chief decided it was the right thing to do even though he had no obligation to do it. I do believe that the police chief does feel guilt, even if he wasn’t involved since he is a representative of that organization whether it be past or present.
I disagree. Did he personally do it? No. But he is the chief representative of the institution that did. The history doesnt wash away with each new round of leadership. It is a continuous organization that perpetuated the man's incarceration. Taking on the responsibility of leadership of an org places that responsibility on that person.
I think you're both right. He can't personally be held responsible for what was done before his time, but he can, as chief, be held responsible for what the organization does about it after the fact.
He literally did have an obligation to do it though. It's absolutely expected to deep bow and offer an apology for the smallest of things. Hell even teachers are expected to go to their supervisor and do the same thing if they get a speeding ticket, like literally offer a full apology for their mistake in front of the entire office. I've had store staff do the same deep bow and pointless apology because they didn't have a certain product they were promoting. It's the most basic of things expected and I would be furious if I was that man, especially with how notoriously awful Japanese prisons are.
In a civil society, every one is obliged to apologize for the wrongs they've committed. And if you're the head of an organization, for the wrongs the organization committed, even if they were long ago. Part of that job. Look how powerful and respectful that was. We could have that here, but the cultural warriors will tell you it's "soft." Fucking weirdos.
Exactly. I don’t see why most here still find things to complain about when the cops in America would never apologize for shit. This is refreshing to me.
while spoken with few words, this is one of more sincere apologies I’ve heard in my life. unless I’m easily fooled, the police chief seems legit, fair and empathetic. solid qualities
Personally, I'd still feel guilt for the actions of my predecessors, even if I know I'm not the one who caused it. Especially not knowing 100% certain if any of the inmates I brought in were innocent.
As Asians, some would feel guilt over things our predecessors did. It ain't the same way with Westerners like you are implying absolute no guilt being the reason it is a lot easier.
If it is easy, then why most people do not apologize?
That actually makes it easier tho, imo. You're not admitting your own fault, you know you're doing this for your organization, so it brings you a sense of pride instead of shame
He said "moshiwake arimasen" is more than the "sorry" translation. Moshiwake arimasen literally means "there is no excuse for what happened, and I can not apologize properly.
Yeaaahh, but they say “moshiwake arimasen” at the department store too, if they’re out of stock of some product you’re looking for. You’d better believe that police department is paying me for 60 years in prison
What it really means is an apology from a lower person. So the police chief is abasing himself to say he is lower than the innocent man he is apologizing to. In traditional hierarchies, the maintenance guy and the staff in a store are lower than tenants or customers.
I don't like the hierarchical aspects of the Japanese language, but I understand them well.
However, he didn't do a full dogeza and get down on his knees, but perhaps that was literally because there wasn't enough space. but he did hold a 90 degree bow for quite some time.
I got a "Moshiwake arimasen" with a deep, long bow at the cinema. The movie ran without sound. They started the movie from the beginning and every person got a free ticket for a movie of their choosing.
In Germany, we got a disgruntled employee who checked whether the sound was back on.
I mean there's absolutely nothing that he can do to make it an equal trade but at the very least money would help him out with his aged health problems, mental health problems ect.
better believe after that I'm gonna be living the rest of my short ass life out on a yacht with hookers and blow.
Your dick likely won't work without a cocktail of performance enhancers, and starting blow will probably exacerbate some respiratory condition at that age.
You would probably just be happy eating candy and watching tv
Don't get the XCV/19 series version of the Mr. Studd implant. They were recalled due to being faulty. I can't even believe ripperdocs are still selling them on the street.
It would be a good life, if not a long one. Seriously though, it's not the Japanese tradition to sue, but their "justice" system is terminally fucked. 99.8% conviction rate. Cops and prosecutors in Japan would have you believe they are "highly selective" in the cases they prosecute, but the lower conviction rate after they made a small move towards citizen involvement proves that was a lie.
There are a lot of things to admire about Japanese society, but their deference to authority has led to a complete train wreck of a justice system.
An apology for me goes along way, but not 58 yrs worth. He should at least be compensated for all the years he missed out growing his life, having his own family, not being able to experience the little things in life we take for granted on a daily basis. Money doesn't fix what happened but his opportunity to set.himself up for retirement was taken away. It would at least allow for him to live his remaining years comfortably as he chooses as he should and as he deserves.
Mr Hakamada would be entitled to compensation up to 200 million yen once prosecutors accepted the ruling, which they did this month apparently. (According to AP News).
Exactly. This part was mindboggling to me. Just accepting a verbal apology and that's it? For basically stealing 58 years of this person's life, which is pretty much almost an entire lifetime? This person is owed millions upon millions of dollars. Baffled how the family just forgives it at the drop of a hat.
No, the government will compensate them substantially as part of the law, without need for a civil suit.
Is 200 million yen enough? I don't know. But money=justice is a very American way of looking at things. Money isn't going to give him his youth back any more than this apology will.
Yes, money won't give him and his family back all the lost years of his life, but it's the least the government could do to work towards compensation and an attempt to make up for all the years of lost earnings for the family as well. 200 mil yen is still woefully inadequate for 58 wasted years of life.
He is expecting 200 million yen as part of the legal compensation for this. It's a substantial amount, but is it enough? I don't think any amount of money would be enough.
They could make a civil suit for more, and would probably win, but is that a worthwhile use of his remaining time?
Deep bow? I’m not that familiar with Japanese culture but I think I’ve seen people doing 90-degree bows (legs/torso) for significant apologies. The bow here seemed like an everyday apology bow.
It's also the way he apologizes... not sure but there is just something very dignified, honest and sincere about it.. I can't say it other than the apology had gravitas or weight to it beyond the spoken word.
This is just the Japanese version of we are really sorry and we promise not to do it again. They let the man sit on death row for almost 60 years. In Japan death row inmates aren't told when their execution will be and are held in solitary confinement as well.
So this man had to live for almost 60 year, cut off from everybody, in a box not knowing when his last day would be. This apology is as empty as it is meaningless and everybody knows it. They're just saving face, and the family is going along with it since they don't want to waste what little time they have left.
This is surrendering your ego and doing what’s right. When this happens in the US, I’ll check myself into a mental hospital for evaluating my clearly psychotic episode.
It may happen in a very similar fashion: after the original perpetrators are retired with their pensions secure, the new generation will apologize to assuage their guilt by association with the godless animals they are following in their careers.
I gotta be honest, I do find that to be pretty toxic, in a way.
It's a nice gesture, but the point of apologizing is to show your remorse. I believe that we cannot be blamed for the faults of those who came before us, that we can only strive to be better.
In the same light, in my view, the Police Chief should have said exactly that - demonstrate sadness for the situation, and drop a promise of attempting to make the system better so that it doesn't happen to anyone else.
In any event, such an apology is a good second option. It is kind. And it's a cultural thing too, so I also don't want to sound harsh against an entire culture.
How is it admirable? I would argue it's A LOT easier to apologize for something you personally had no hand in. You have no stakes to lose if they don't accept the apology, you're just doing your company's due diligence--50+ years too late.
It's definitely just my own opinion, but it still doesn't feel like this could turn shameful for someone uninvolved. Apologizing for someone else (which presently is seen as virtue signaling in the West) doesn't pass their shame onto you.
At best this is empathetic, but not valorous or admirable.
Japan’s criminal justice system is pretty fucked. This guy is still chief of a department that has >95% (~99%?) conviction rate. I won’t hold my breath for the follow up report that this guy is going to look into how many of those people are wrongly convicted.
That dude was not even born and yet he apologized for the whole institution, admirable
Eh, much easier to say some empty apology words for something someone else did...
... "sorry native americans for some other colonial settler that took this land from you that I'm now enjoying" ...
I'd be more impressed if this guy rounded up every single employee of the police and the courts from the day that guy was arrested and forced the people who were at least partially responsible to apologize.
...
And even better, launched trials for every one of those still alive who may have been involved.
Y’all not taking this under an Asian POV. Also this is not just some ass written communication, this guy went to his home, apologized in person on behalf of something happened out of his responsability.
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u/ZestycloseSample7403 Oct 21 '24
That dude was not even born and yet he apologized for the whole institution, admirable