The controversy over the increase in crimes committed by foreigners in Japan is centered mainly on appearances and interpretation. The National Police Agency's use of statistics to show that "foreign crime" is on the rise has given the agency license to initiate policies that many people, both Japanese and non-Japanese, find discriminatory and inflammatory.

Then, in a desperate and misguided effort to appear to be doing something about undocumented immigrants, the Foreign Ministry launched a Web site where citizens can rat on foreigners who they think might be here illegally. The Web site encourages people who already mistrust foreigners to exercise that mistrust to their heart's content.

But the fact is, the biggest negative impact on the average Japanese person's image of foreigners is the reporting of crimes committed by foreigners. If it's true that the authorities are using such reports to serve their own xenophobic ends, then it's important for the media to place these crimes in a proper context.