Legal to drink in public?

Hi.

Is it legal to drink alchohol in public in Japan?

Last time I was in Tokyo, I was walking around the area around my hotel on the night. The area is not so crowded but still alittle people here and there. Anyway, as I was walking, I heard a man running up to me and shouted something. When he came in front of me, he started to talk in Japanese (he was old and really drunk). My Japanese is bad so I didn't understand well. He asked me where I was from and if I liked beer. Then he held my had and asked if I wanted to drink beer with him. So he pulled my arm when we were walking till we came to a convenience store where he was suppose to buy the beer. I waited outside because I was holding an ice-cream but when he was in the store, I went back to the hotel because I was going home on the next morning. There were two police officers just around the corner so I was wondering if they would arrest me if I was drinking with the man.

So, what would have happend if I had met the police officers when I was drinking beer?

Yes, it is legal to drink alcohol in public in Japan!

Carl,

I'm sorry that you had a bad experience in Japan.
It is legal to drink in public but the reason why police were there was, in my opinion, they worried about you and your safety.

They must have been watching the drunk man approach you and pull you to the store. They're ready to run to the man if he did something to you.

odd how some stranger just ran to you,ask you if you want some beer,pulled your hand, and drag you to a convient store,

Thank you for your answers.

About the drunk man. He was friendly and nice. He pulled me as we were walking but it was ok because we were walking in the right direction to the hotel and the convenient store were on the route.
Of course, if he wanted me to go in another direction, I would not do it.

About the police, they hadn't seen me utill I got out of the store because the store is in an intersection and the drunk man and I came from the north and the police officers came from the east.

Actually, it was not the only time a stranger talked with me. Once a homeless woman talked with me when I was sitting on the ground. She said that I was a Japanese woman in an earlier life because I have a small mouth.

Strangers in Tokyo are nice.

Karl
Friendliness one of the things I like about the Japanese. He sounds like a friendly ole guy who just wanted to buy you a beer and practice his english.
One thing to point out is that if you of legal age and drink in public it used to be considered rude to walk around drinking. Thats why you probably noticed people standing around the vending machines consuming their beverages. Its not illegal though.

Even though Japanese people are considered to be very nice, plus I expected them to be and I hope I don�ft have any problems when I�fm travelling. But what for example if I was attacked or mugged (I�fm fully trained in Wing Chun Kung Fu and speed is what I do, so my attacker would be put down very fast), anyway if the police saw me doing this would I be arrested or would it still be classed as self-defence as it is in my country??

Mugging is so rare in Japan that I seriously doubt you would have a chance to use your skills. If you actually did, then you would have to hope you had some witnesses to say that he had attacked you first and not the other way around...

Sorry I didn't get the gist of your answer, are you saying that if I used my training I would be arrested anyway because I'm a foreigner? Or just for the fact I used a deadly force?

I’m probably making a fuss over nothing as everyone has told me that Japanese people are very nice, but I’m just a little worried about using it that’s all, should I refrain from defending myself to an extreme? I can disarm and put down someone without even hurting them at all, but Wing Chun is about fast contact and quick knock out – no questions asked!!

Sorry if that sounded over the top but I hope you understand what I mean, I don’t want to get out there and on my first day get approached by a drunk guy and get harassed, use my skills and then get arrested and accused of assault. It’s just very hard to not use a tactic that I have trained very hard in and along time, again thank you in advance.

Look at the situation from an outsider PoV...

Lets say there are no witnesses.
A japanese man is beaten by a foreigner. The japanese man is MUCH more likely to be believed, I'd imagine. One, he can explain the situation much more convincingly, seeing how it is going to be said in his home language. That, and the western countries (especially Britain, for example) are quite reknowned for their someone violent tourists at times.

If you were to get attacked, just hold them away, run, and shout (apparently shouting "Fire!" is always the best way, as people pay attention to a call of fire more than they do for thief or rape).

Don't go beating people up, even if you can. Haven't you watched Spiderman? With great power... :P

That was not what I was implying, but you answered my question and I will not go around 'beating' people up as you put it, running is another good skill and I will being using this if the situation arises shouting FIRE at the top of my voice.

And yeah I have herd that we British have a bad rep of being troubled holiday makers, the news have made a big issue of it, and believe me when I say Im not one of these thugs :D

Sii,

In Japan, the drunk guys just want to practise their English on you. There is a distinct possibility that you could find yourself arrested for assault if you start using your Vulcan death grip on people.

Yeah I understand what mean, and I do believe that Japanese people are nice and friendly and I don't believe I wil need to use any form of defence at all.

Thanks everyone, cheers!!