The Tokyo District Court acquitted a Ghanaian man Tuesday of striking a police officer in Tokyo last year. [A NUGW Tokyo Nambu member], 49, was found not guilty of obstructing the officer in the performance of his duties by striking him in the face with his right arm on a street in Tokyo’s Adachi Ward on Nov 7 last year after the officer asked him to show his alien registration card.

Presiding Judge Noriki Ando said the defendant has a disability in his right arm and that he cannot raise it higher than shoulder level, and that it is hard to recognize he intentionally struck the officer’s face. The judge said the possibility cannot be denied that his hand happened to hit the officer when the defendant moved his body.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/crime/view/ghanaian-man-acquitted-of-striking-police-officer-in-tokyo

A group of women working as bar hostesses have formed their own labor union, complaining about unpaid wages and sexual harassment.

Working at so-called “kyabakura” — a portmanteau of “kyabare” (cabaret) and “kurabu” (clubs) — bars as a hostess is becoming increasingly popular among young women in Japan. However, the group, which announced the formation of the “Kyabakura Union” at a press conference at the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare on Tuesday, warned hostess wannabes it’s no easy job.

After [Kyabakura Union representative Rin] Sakurai reduced the number of her workdays per week due to poor health, the bar reportedly stopped paying her. Sakurai, who had been sexually harassed by the bar manager, also found unjust payroll deductions for services she had never used, such as 3,000 yen per day for welfare expenses, and 1,500 yen for hair styling and makeup. [An] investigation revealed illegal wage deductions and falsely imposed penalties.

“Some think unpaid wages and sexual harassment are normal in the nightclub industry, but that’s not true,” says Sakurai.

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20091223p2a00m0na010000c.html