The young cop would be so informed. Then he would ask, “Do you have your alien registration card?” Japan used to have a law called the Alien Registration Law, which oversaw the foreigners living in Japan. Although “oversaw” had a nice ring to it, the law was basically there to put a collar on so-called “bad” foreigners. Despite being born and raised in Japan, I was still considered a foreign resident, so I was required to be registered as one and have an alien registration card. You were supposed to have this card on your person at all times and not having it could get you a year of
