[laurieg]

I am not a lawyer so I can't really give much of an opinion on this aspect. My layman's reading of that party of the constitution seems to suggest that searching people like this would be unlawful, but perhaps it had been judged in the past that not consenting to a search is sufficiently suspicious.

The other common tactic I have seen is when the police want someone but cannot search or arrest then straightaway they physically surround them. 4+ police officers will stand around the person in such a way as to stop them from leaving without touching an officer. If the person pushes past the police they get arrested for assault. These stand offs can last for literally hours, in which case the police will rotate it in shifts.

I don't work in a legal profession , I just happen to live on a street with lots of bars, nightclubs and a particularly active police station.

[lovemenot]

What you say may well happen like this occasionally, but I would question the police's imputed motive. At least in general.

My wife works in mental health in Japan. Nurses use this exact technique to contain potentially violent situations. Not for legal purposes, but for the safety of themselves, the patient who is surrounded and of others too.

It's pretty effective in de-escalating and does not induce force from either party.

Again, not saying this system is never abused, but in general it's safer for all parties not to up the ante in using force for the purpose of getting a faster resolution.

[AstralStorm]

This is unconstitutional way of limiting movement, even by Japanese Constitution which is lax, and not allowed by statute for police operations.

Restraining movement does not require enclosure or other technical means, yet is still illegal. Police can literally stop you for a few reasons and no more.

If you literally tell the police to move away because they're illegally preventing you from moving in clear terms, if they hit you while you push through they're committing assault. Treat it like any other police brutality in court.

The first thing you have to do in this abuse of power situation is to get evidence, and by stupid Japanese law you're not allowed to take photographs of policemen I think, so get something else, like sound recording.

Suing them would be a fun pastime for someone rich, and a way to get the prosecutor to throw the case.

Of course of they really want you for something illegal, they will get you in some other way.