When a station attendant tapped his shoulder to lead him into a nearby police box shortly after he got off the last train of the day, Roberto (not his real name) thought the police just wanted to check if he had overstayed his visa.

At the police box, officers and station staff began questioning him in serious tones. Roberto, an Italian national who had come to Japan from Rome just several months before with his Japanese wife and daughter, did not understand what they were saying. But having proper visa status, he proudly took out his passport to show one of the police officers, and waited for them to let him go home.

However, instead of saying, "Thank you for your cooperation. Have a nice day," the officers took Roberto to a nearby police station and locked him up.