I would like to say to the Aichi Prefectural Police who were at Chubu Centrair International Airport on April 26, "thank you."
Thank you for always looking out for the safety of people living in Aichi. Thank you for making sure that the citizens in Aichi uphold the law. Thank you for obeying the law yourselves. Thank you for being a role model for children.
Thank you for making me lie to my son on your behalf.
Thank you to the officer for directly approaching me and my son at Chubu Centrair's arrival area and inquiring why we were there. This is only the fourth time (out of six trips to the airport in as many years) that this has occurred. I'm sure that any of the other 40 people that were waiting at the arrival terminal that day would tell you the same thing. That they were waiting for someone to arrive.
We appreciated you singling us out as the only visible foreigners among those 40 people, beelining directly to us and embarrassing us by questioning our motives for being there in front of the crowd and then not inquiring to anyone else.
We understand that you are just trying to keep the citizens of Aichi, as well as the travelers at Chubu Centrair safe. Especially from fathers sitting drinking cocoa with their 4-year-old son while waiting for grandma to arrive. I'm sure that your racial profiling will do well in this regard.
Son: "Papa, police catch bad guys right?"
Me: "Yes, that's their job. To keep you safe from the bad guys."
Son: "We are not bad guys right?"
Me: "No we are not. Drink your cocoa."
Son: "Then why did the police come to us?"
Me: "Just to have a chat. Drink your cocoa."
Son: "But not to anyone else? Why?"
Me: "Because he just wanted to say hello and its his job to talk to people."
Son: "But why not them?"
Me: "Because he was scared that you would spill your cocoa and make a mess. Messes are bad. Now drink up."
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.