Japan to fingerprint all visitors
Discussion
If you're planning to visit Japan sometime in the near future, you should be aware of the welcome you'll get. Last year, Japan's parliament passed a measure requiring foreigners to submit their fingerprints when entering the country. The measures, which apply to all foreigners over 16 regardless of visa status, take effect tomorrow (19 November 2007). The worst part: the fingerprints are stored in a national database for an "unspecified time", and will be made available to both domestic police and foreign governments.
Japan is to fingerprint and photograph foreigners entering the country from [20 November 2007] in an anti-terrorism policy that is stirring anger among foreign residents and human rights activists.
Anyone considered to be a terrorist -- or refusing to cooperate -- will be denied entry and deported.
"This will greatly contribute to preventing international terrorist activities on our soil," Immigration Bureau official Naoto Nikai said in a briefing on the system, which starts on November 20.
The checks are similar to the "US Visit" system introduced in the United States after the attacks on September 11, 2001.
But Japan, unlike the United States, will require resident foreigners as well as visitors to be fingerprinted and photographed every time they re-enter the country.
"It certainly doesn't make people who've been here for 30 or 40 years feel like they're even human beings basically," said businessman Terrie Lloyd, who has dual Australian and New Zealand citizenship and has been based in Japan for 24 years.
"There has not been a single incident of foreign terrorism in Japan, and there have been plenty of Japanese terrorists," he said.
There are more than two million foreigners registered as resident in Japan, of whom 40 per cent are classed as permanent residents.
The pictures and fingerprints obtained by immigration officials will be made available to police and may be shared with foreign immigration authorities and governments.
Diplomats and children under 16 are excluded from the new requirement, as are "special" permanent residents of Korean and Chinese origin, many of whom are descended from those brought to Japan as forced labour before and during World War Two.
Local government fingerprinting of foreign residents when issuing registration cards, long a source of friction, was abolished in 2000.
Amnesty International is calling for the immigration plan to be abandoned.
"Making only foreigners provide this data is discriminatory," said Sonoko Kawakami of Amnesty's Japan office.
"They are saying 'terrorist equals foreigner'. It's an exclusionary policy that could encourage xenophobia."
The new system is being introduced as Japan campaigns to attract more tourists.
More than 6.7 million foreign visitors came to Japan in 2006, government statistics show. Immigration officials say they are unsure how long tourists can expect to wait in line for the checks to be made.
Japan is to fingerprint and photograph foreigners entering the country from [20 November 2007] in an anti-terrorism policy that is stirring anger among foreign residents and human rights activists.
Anyone considered to be a terrorist -- or refusing to cooperate -- will be denied entry and deported.
"This will greatly contribute to preventing international terrorist activities on our soil," Immigration Bureau official Naoto Nikai said in a briefing on the system, which starts on November 20.
The checks are similar to the "US Visit" system introduced in the United States after the attacks on September 11, 2001.
But Japan, unlike the United States, will require resident foreigners as well as visitors to be fingerprinted and photographed every time they re-enter the country.
"It certainly doesn't make people who've been here for 30 or 40 years feel like they're even human beings basically," said businessman Terrie Lloyd, who has dual Australian and New Zealand citizenship and has been based in Japan for 24 years.
"There has not been a single incident of foreign terrorism in Japan, and there have been plenty of Japanese terrorists," he said.
There are more than two million foreigners registered as resident in Japan, of whom 40 per cent are classed as permanent residents.
The pictures and fingerprints obtained by immigration officials will be made available to police and may be shared with foreign immigration authorities and governments.
Diplomats and children under 16 are excluded from the new requirement, as are "special" permanent residents of Korean and Chinese origin, many of whom are descended from those brought to Japan as forced labour before and during World War Two.
Local government fingerprinting of foreign residents when issuing registration cards, long a source of friction, was abolished in 2000.
Amnesty International is calling for the immigration plan to be abandoned.
"Making only foreigners provide this data is discriminatory," said Sonoko Kawakami of Amnesty's Japan office.
"They are saying 'terrorist equals foreigner'. It's an exclusionary policy that could encourage xenophobia."
The new system is being introduced as Japan campaigns to attract more tourists.
More than 6.7 million foreign visitors came to Japan in 2006, government statistics show. Immigration officials say they are unsure how long tourists can expect to wait in line for the checks to be made.
I think that this law may be revoked when the only people travelling to Japan are business men and women. I would avoid any country that treated its guests in this manor when it comes to taking a holiday
If other countries wish to treat us as criminals at airports then perhaps we should have special 'procedures' for Americans and now Japanese when visiting the UK?
Not sure why it is such a big issue. I get fingerprinted and photographed every time I go to the USA. I haven't been to Japan for many years but I do remember the Japanese officials not being particularly friendly to foreign visitors. So now they'll photograph and fingerprint the foreigners.
pp
pp
Robatr0n said:
I wouldn't complain if we had the same security measures, atleast Japan and the USA are doing something about it...
What are they doing about what, precisely? All the Twin Towers, London and Madrid bombers were legitimately (ie not illegally) in the country. This measure will do the square root of 
all for national security.
Robatr0n said:
Everytime I go to the states I have my fingerprints and photo taken but I don't really care as it doesn't add much time and I have nothing to hide.
So I guess that you are entirely happy thatheaven-knows-who has copies of your fingerprints now.
Data loss from Government computers is a well
known big problem.
Personally, I stopped going to the USA a long
time ago.
I can easily not go to Japan ever again.
dcb said:
Robatr0n said:
Everytime I go to the states I have my fingerprints and photo taken but I don't really care as it doesn't add much time and I have nothing to hide.
So I guess that you are entirely happy thatheaven-knows-who has copies of your fingerprints now.
Data loss from Government computers is a well
known big problem.
Personally, I stopped going to the USA a long
time ago.
I can easily not go to Japan ever again.
Doubt it'll have any impact on terrorism and it will probably piss people off ... so probably a silly policy. I'd be mildly pissed off if they ask me to cover myself in ink for no good reason (or are they using cameras?). However I don't see how it can be seen as a civil libverty issue. I couldn't give a tuppney F if someone wants to record my finger prints. it's no more a n invasion of my privacy than taking a photo of me walking through passport control, or asking me to sign something.
So if a terrorist tried to enter that country under an assumed identity and was caught due to finger printing would this still be OTT or would it then become a great success.
This is purely looking after your own area on a large scale.
If you have a house with an alarm, CCTV, security lighting etc and your neighbour doesn't who's most likely to be burgled.
It's all about making youself the least attractive target.
Nobody likes to go through this kind of thing but if all nations tightened up in this way it would make life much harder for the travelling criminal.
This country is under permanent threat of a terrorist attack because we are to scared to enforce any real security measures as a result of pandering to human rights legislation.
This is purely looking after your own area on a large scale.
If you have a house with an alarm, CCTV, security lighting etc and your neighbour doesn't who's most likely to be burgled.
It's all about making youself the least attractive target.
Nobody likes to go through this kind of thing but if all nations tightened up in this way it would make life much harder for the travelling criminal.
This country is under permanent threat of a terrorist attack because we are to scared to enforce any real security measures as a result of pandering to human rights legislation.
Are the pros also in favour of:
Streaky
- their fingerprints being shared with other foreign police forces?
- being on the UK's 'criminal records' DNA database?
- answering 53 questions before they can travel abroad?
- their credit card details being shared with (say) the Bulgarian police?
- having to carry ID when travelling to NI (not even during the worst of the IRA threat was this demanded)?
Streaky
I'm not sure it is racist as such, more tribal.
The Yanks and Japanese strike me as a people who could not care less if foreigners visit or not. They are both so wealthy and desired countries to live in, they can ( and do ) cherry pick who they want to give working visas to.
That rather rigorous and highly selective policy has been in place for decades, as it is in most countries, even Australia, where being thick does not get you free lunches. You are simply told to stay away.
So most of these checks will be used more to catch fraudsters, wanted criminals, on the dole as disabled but now returning from a solo surfboarding trip to Hawaii, etc.
To be fair, the kind of people no country needs to waste huge amounts of taxpayers money on....as we do.
It is mainly spin and playing the political correctness game. Countries cannot say they don't want lazy or thick people entering, they cannot officially say 'we will check for the bone idle and dumb and kick you out, if necessary'. Can you imagine how high the horse would be our politicians climbed on to attack that? The country which makes overnight millionaires out of thick and abusive people?
No, the ' it's fighting terrorism' line is a brilliant of avoiding the truth, or how such policies will be used in reality.
It is simply another method of keeping the low life out.
The Yanks and Japanese strike me as a people who could not care less if foreigners visit or not. They are both so wealthy and desired countries to live in, they can ( and do ) cherry pick who they want to give working visas to.
That rather rigorous and highly selective policy has been in place for decades, as it is in most countries, even Australia, where being thick does not get you free lunches. You are simply told to stay away.
So most of these checks will be used more to catch fraudsters, wanted criminals, on the dole as disabled but now returning from a solo surfboarding trip to Hawaii, etc.
To be fair, the kind of people no country needs to waste huge amounts of taxpayers money on....as we do.
It is mainly spin and playing the political correctness game. Countries cannot say they don't want lazy or thick people entering, they cannot officially say 'we will check for the bone idle and dumb and kick you out, if necessary'. Can you imagine how high the horse would be our politicians climbed on to attack that? The country which makes overnight millionaires out of thick and abusive people?
No, the ' it's fighting terrorism' line is a brilliant of avoiding the truth, or how such policies will be used in reality.
It is simply another method of keeping the low life out.
fluffnik said:
Robatr0n said:
I wouldn't complain if we had the same security measures, atleast Japan and the USA are doing something about it...
Ahhhhh, the nebulous it for which we must all surrender our freedoms...Well by the same token, I refuse to give up my freedom! Why should I have my freedom of holiday/vacation taken away over fingerprints?
mechsympathy said:
Robatr0n said:
I wouldn't complain if we had the same security measures, atleast Japan and the USA are doing something about it...
What are they doing about what, precisely? All the Twin Towers, London and Madrid bombers were legitimately (ie not illegally) in the country. This measure will do the square root of all for national security.What exactly are we doing about it though? Oh wait, we invite them to our country, give them a money and a house and allow them to bomb us.
Genius ain't it...
This method means that Japan or the USA will not allow undesirables who they feel will be a threat to their society in their country legitimatly.
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