Yes, this sounds weird. Maybe you resembled somebody they were out on the lookout for. And just for completeness, I've never been stopped in the street and asked to produce ID. I usually don't carry it, so I'm tempting fate, but I like to live on the edge.

I think it probably has to do with the sex trade and maybe there is increasingly more gay American/Russian/other men who are servicing the Japanese Gay population. Maybe the police are on alert for gay men who are prostitutes in Japan and overstaying their tourist visits..

I think that probably is why they were so surprised with the fact that op's Asian partner wasn't Japanese.

They didn't think they were looking at two foreigners--they thought they were looking at one Japanese gay guy with a white gay guy who was hired??

Bollocks, they don't know I'm a foreigner just by looking at me (though it'd be a pretty good guess). It's institutionalised racism anyway you care to dress it up.

Wow. Some people have such vivid imaginations.

For the folks who think that the second incident was in some way related to the OP's sexuality, race or partner's race. Do you think that two plain clothes cops engaged in an operation at a subway station with 10 other plain clothes cops would put their operation on hold to indulge in a little gay harassment or mixed race couple harassment?

I think it's unlikely.

For the folks who think that the incident was in some way related to a clean up of the sex trade. Is it likely that 12 cops would be watching the turnstiles at a subway station to clamp down on prostitution?** I have read that there are periodic raids on properties where prostitution goes on. I can believe that there are teams of plain clothes cops observing people in neighbourhoods where street solicitation happens. But a subway ticket gate doesn't strike me as the place they'd set up an operation to catch prostitutes.

Unless theres a subway kaisatsu cottaging phenom. that I'm simply unaware of....... I suppose it's possible, but I've been through a lot of subway gates and never been propositioned. (Maybe I'm just too ugly).

Oh -- I've just remembered one reason that there are sometimes groups of plain clothes cops on the subway. They sometimes have sting operations to catch "Chikan" (molesters). I recall one incident where a woman complained to the cops that she was being repeatedly targetted by some gropers. A group of plain-clothes cops joined her on her morning commute for several days. When the offenders struck, the undercover police team stepped in and arrested them.

OP - Did you or your boyfriend have mirrors on your shoes? Or might you have inadvertantly put a hand up a stranger's skirt? I know how easily these things can happen by mistake and get blown out of all proportion.

(Paragraphs 5 and 7 are tongue in cheek. The rest of this post is intended seriously. I know it's confusing the way I sometimes mix the two. I do it to keep you on your toes).

** And we're talking about a subway station where everyone is wearing a dark suit. So this is not Roppongi on a Friday night.

Once, whilst minding my own business (and wearing a long jumper knitted for me by my mother) I was propositioned by a young Japanese man (not unhandsome) who wanted to buy my services.

This was outside Kings Cross Station in London.

My own mother (someone who has never worn heels or make up in her life) was also propositioned here by someone who wanted to be her pimp.

Coincidentally, this is also a station where I've seen large gangs of plain clothes policemen stop and apprehend people, usually males, on numerous occasions. I have to say that most of the times (but not all) those apprehended were not caucasian.

Just thought I'd throw this into the mix for a little perspective. I've always thought of Ueno station as kind of like the Kings Cross equivalent for Tokyo. Now even more so.

---
I also had a group of about 8 plain clothes policemen swoop on me when a gang of young men, foreigners, took a case of mine outside a Bus Station in Alicante, Spain when I was waiting for a cousin to come and collect me. The case was returned and the gang taken away. Naturally, I was happy to see them.

Plain clothes officials always seem to work as a team in my experience. In Japan, where 3 people in Public facing roles usually do the work of 1 elsewhere, perhaps it isn't surprising that so many work together.

I'm sorry the OP was so unlucky. I've enjoyed my own interactions with the police in Japan and not seen the flipside as of yet. I can't even guess as to what they were looking for in Ueno.

I think you may be mixing up incidents.

The Ueno story in this thread is one of my contributions and there's absolutely no mystery to the story - Ueno is where my two friends were stopped. They were stopped by a lone policeman in uniform. They did ask why he wanted to see ID. He did say that he was checking for overstayers. There's no mystery. It was an unwarranted ID check, since merely being foreign is not a valid reason for a policeman to suspect criminal activity or intent. If I had been there with time on my hands, I think I would have protested against the harrassment, demanded to see the cop's ID and subsequently lodged an official complaint.

The OP has not mentioned which station he was hassled at. He did mention that everyone around was wearing a dark suit. That makes me think of Nagatacho, Kasumigaseki, Otemachi etc. But it could describe the scene at so many stations during certain times of day. (My local station is often full of dark suits since there's a funeral ceremony place nearby).

I don't see how you can say others' speculation is wrong when you're speculating as well. Did you know that there's some secret gay code at airport bathrooms before the Larry Craig incident? The police knew about it.. I suppose you're supposed to know about it before the police do?

Whether or not the police were there for a terrorist attack or for some high-profile government people is irrelevant. If they think there is something weird going on, they will investigate.

Not to mention, why is it that the reason police were there in the first place limited to protecting public profile figures or some news about a terrorist attack? Maybe it was a training program or a training tool? Or maybe there's some secret gay prostitution thing you don't know about? But none of that can be right according to your expert opinion...

I have said that some theories are "unlikely" - I don't think I've been bold enough in this discussion to dismiss anyone's theory as "wrong"

Let me show you why I am skeptical of a specific speculation that I have criticized:

One of the speculations in this post is:
(1) "it probably has to do with the sex trade"

The foundations for this speculation appear to be
(1) "maybe there is increasingly more gay American/Russian/other men who are servicing the Japanese Gay population.
(2) "Maybe the police are on alert for gay men who are prostitutes in Japan and overstaying their tourist visits.."

So, we have a "probably" balancing on two "maybes." "Maybes" are inherently flimsy. The theory collapses.

Let's look at my theory:

Here's the speculation:
"an argument in a station might be cause enough for a police officer to consider you or your partner suspicious"

The foundation for this speculation is the OP's comment:
"We were arguing as we bought the subway tickets"

It's a "might be" which is supported by a "We were"

The theory is not perfect. It can be attacked from a number of angles such as:
- If 12 policemen were undercover at a location they would be unlikely to want to give themselves away by becoming engaged with two bickering foreigners

That's why I only felt confident enough to hazard a "might be" rather than a "probably" or a "certainly."

I'm happy for you to dispute any of the reasoning that I've layed out in my posts. I'm genuinely interested in the issue of foreigners being unfairly harrassed in Japan - and if my premises or reasoning are flawed, I really want to know about it.

I think it's highly relevant to the OP's conjecture that Japan is crawling with plain clothes police. I don't think this conjecture is justified.

My experience tells me that there are plain clothes police officers in Japan, but they don't get deployed in groups of 12 unless there's something special happening.

It's not. That's why I wrote:
My point is that whatever the reason for the presence of plain clothes police officers, it is not the normal state of affairs for subway stations to have 12 plain clothes police officers on duty in the absence of a special reason.

The OP stated that he believes that Japan is crawling with plain clothes police officers. I am trying to explain that he was witness to an extremely unusual situation.

I think that's plausible.

I am almost sure that there are many gay prostitution things that I don't know about. But I find it unlikely that they are going on at the ticket gate of a subway station full of suits. I frequently find myself in subway stations full of suiits. I'm observant enough.

I have pointed out that some theories are "unlikely" based on facts of the story as presented by the OP. I've also applied some relevant experience of my own to interpretting this story. To wit:
- I have an MA in Japanese studies
- I am a regular visitor to Japan since 1989
- I currently live in Japan (and have lived here 14 years)
- I have one experience of dealing with plain clothes cops to plan the visit of a member of the Imperial family to my place of work.
- I experienced multiple police ID checks when my office received a bomb threat
- I follow Japanese news stories in English and Japanese media
- I have gay friends (including two Asian + Caucasian couples) who lived in Japan
- I have foreign friends (including two who were asked for ID for no reason)

NRT, JUL06, waiting for the Narita Hilton shuttle, standing by myself with luggage, I saw 2 uniformed policemen across the street as they were looking at me. They crossed the street at the crosswalk and walked towards me.

They approached me and asked to see my ID. Both were very professional, very polite, but they were asking questions. What, why, when? One officer wrote down some info from my passport, while his partner and I engaged in a conversation about Florida, my home these days.

It didn't bother me, but the policemen did write down info from the passport and my answers to their questions. At the end of the encounter, they thanked me, wished me a good stay at the Narita Hilton and walked on....

Caucasian male, mid 40s, smart casual dressed, etc....

Nonetheless, it was wrong of them to ask for ID.

I wish that everyone who goes through this would ask why they're being ID'd.

For some people it may be no big deal - but some police officers clearly need to be reminded that there must be a valid reason to do an ID check.

It took me a few minutes to read through these posts.

In any case, you win.

You have proven yourself to be an expert with these kinds of credentials.. MA in Japanese studies and you have friends..

I agree with your logic now!
Gay bathroom sex = likely
Police stopping a gay couple because of suspicion of prostitution = highly unlikely.

Maybe because they're used to seeing Americans in Vietnam? :D

Is that how you met your husband?

(J/K, of course! :D)

In October many employers of non Japanese were asked for a list of non Japanese employees.

There have also been many recent reports (on the internet) of increased ID checks of non Japanese. As I have been made aware of the increases, for the past few moths I have been very careful to remember my I.D. even when going out near home. I do not know the reason for the sudden increase. I do know that it is a fact.

I think that the OP was just caught up in the sweep.