Amid a surge in theft, visa overstays and misdemeanors such as riding abandoned bicycles, Vietnamese residents of Japan are trying to help each other learn the rules.

They are participating in quizzes and other events that test their knowledge of Japanese law, particularly as it relates to employment and immigration.

The National Police Agency said violations by Vietnamese tripled in the past 10 years and comprised 44 percent of all crimes committed by foreign residents in 2023. 

A sample question: Which part-time job is forbidden for foreigners with a student visa? (1) Washing dishes at a hostess bar, (2) serving as a waiter in a gigolo club, (3) working in a pachinko parlor, or (4) cleaning at a game arcade?

The correct answer is “all of them.” All those jobs are off-limits to non-Japanese students under the amusement business control law.

This was one of the questions during an online quiz earlier this year. About 1,600 Vietnamese participated in the contest to show their knowledge of Japan’s laws and other rules.

The first round comprised multiple-choice questions. The second had questions that were more difficult to answer: “Give two examples of actions that would be considered complicity in shoplifting.” “Explain what is considered to be an underground bank.”

One day in mid-April, 13 participants with the highest scores were honored at the Vietnamese Embassy in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward.

To the organizers’ dismay, the top winner did not show up. However, runner-up Nguyen Chuc Linh, 25, traveled from Kyoto Prefecture to attend the commendation ceremony. Linh represents a case study in someone who has learned and helps others understand the rules.

Linh has lived in Japan for seven years. She completed a course at Osaka University, after which she began working for Kizugawa city in Kyoto Prefecture as an international relations coordinator.

Her main duties are to help Vietnamese residents. For example, Linh shows motorists how to renew their driver’s license. She also talks people through how to move their households.

Sometimes the police use her language skills as an interpreter when Vietnamese are pulled in for questioning. At other times, Linh said, she is asked by police to make presentations about Vietnam’s culture and legislation.

Linh described the quiz event as a “golden opportunity.”

“I want to share what I have learned through this with other Vietnamese,” she beamed.

She added that she enjoys telling the police about things in Vietnam.

The competition was co-organized by YouTube channel Honto TV, which targets Vietnamese residents in Japan.

Honto TV was founded two years ago by Mei Phuong, 37, a Japan-based reporter for Vietnam's state broadcaster.

Phuong said her motivation was to inform viewers of the facts, as represented in the name chosen for the channel, “honto” (fact).

Honto TV features luminaries from Japan’s Vietnamese community. It also explores the host country’s legal framework.

It has produced 10 shows to date, giving actual crimes including shoplifting, the fabrication of residence cards and illicit overseas remittances.

National Police Agency data show a surge in visa overstayers, possessors of fake residence cards and other offenses against the immigration control law.

The surge can be seen by comparing recent data with that a decade ago.

In 2014, a total of 1,972 offenses were committed by Vietnamese under the Penal Code. A further 516 offenses were recorded under other laws. Together, these 2,488 offenses comprised 16.4 percent of all crimes by non-Japanese people.

In 2023, there were 4,082 violations of the Penal Code among Vietnamese. Almost 77 percent of those violations were cases of theft.

There were a further 3,868 offenses under specialized laws. Violations of the immigration control law were most frequently reported, at 84.2 percent of the total.

The overall total of 7,950 for Vietnamese represents the largest number of crimes committed by foreign residents, at 44 percent of the total.

According to data from the Immigration Services Agency, Japan’s Vietnamese population has increased rapidly from 99,865 in 2014 to 565,026 in 2023.

Japan is trying to make use of the additional labor this offers. Amid a dwindling birthrate and graying of society, Japan passed a revision to the immigration control law in June.

It adopted a new employment training system designed to attract overseas workers more aggressively.

But as they arrive, they need to learn the rules.

Whereas riding abandoned bicycles and catching some fish and wild animals may not constitute violations in Vietnam, these actions are illegal in Japan.

Honto TV organized the quiz contest and YouTube programs with the cooperation of the Metropolitan Police Department in Tokyo.

“There are differences in the details of laws between Japan and Vietnam,” said Tomoro Terada, head of the department that handles cross-border crime.

“We are open to collaboration with those from other nations,” Terada added. “We can join hands in a quest to make Japanese rules and manners understood more broadly through guidance and education.”

(This article was written by Ari Hirayama and Hikaru Uchida.)