Back when I was constantly flying to do data collections for criminal litigation I would encounter issues with the TSA but never Asian countries, especially Japan. My carry-on with a couple of clothing items, a camera and a bunch of little USB hard drives would baffle the TSA people. My Pelican case with a bunch of data cables and adapters (and the rest of my clothes) would cause much confusion and concern for them as well. On my return flights the USB drives in my carry-on were in marked evidence bags along with business cards form the top corporate executive(s) & attorney(s) and I was treated with deference by the Asian security people and especially Japan's. Domestic US travel was a nightmare and more than once I had to tell the TSA agent (and often their boss and the airport police) that if they opened any evidence bags they would be defying a federal evidential protective order and be required to show up at a hearing in San Francisco at their own expense. More than once I refused to hand over anything so ended up renting a car and driving back. My bluff was called only once and the poor woman didn't know what hit her when she was subpoenaed and had to explain in person to a very grumpy judge three states away why she defied a federal order.