Police

I have been in Japan 12 years and wanted to give my views on police officers in Japan vs Canada. In Canada, you usually do NOT want to talk to an officer unless you need to report a crime. In Japan, people talk to the officers and ask for directions, what time, where something is, etc. and therefore are much more friendly and active in the community. In Canada, police officers have to deal with drugs, gangs, often aggressive and violent offenders. In Japan, this just doesn't happen often at all. I guess, this may be why Japanese officers are more relaxed and friendly? In Canada, officers use their guns and tasers. In Japan, officers have guns, but they also carry a kind of martial art stick that is their first line of defense (remember that in Japan, people just do NOT have guns, not even the yakuza arry them, as the penalties are just so crazy high, that the gangster's boss will also be incriminated!). Therefore, when I see a police officer in Japan, I tend to usually smile and say good afternoon, etc. to them, and they always reply to me politely. Different countries, different cultures, and therefore differences in police officers :_)