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Japan to fingerprint, photograph foreigners from Nov 20
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Hoser



Joined: 19 Mar 2005
Posts: 694
Location: Toronto, Canada
PostPosted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 12:03 am    Post subject: Japan to fingerprint, photograph foreigners from Nov 20 Reply with quote
Quote:
TOKYO � The government will approve a draft ordinance stipulating that a mandatory fingerprinting and photographing of visitors aged 16 or older will enter into force on Nov 20, officials said Thursday. The revised Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law incorporating such a measure was enacted in May last year in a bid to block the entry into Japan of individuals designated as terrorists by the justice minister.


Under the law, scanned fingerprints and other biometric data will be stored in a computer to be checked against those of past deportees. The system can also be accessed by investigating authorities, they said. The measure excludes ethnic Koreans and other permanent residents with special status, those under 16, those visiting Japan for diplomatic or official purposes, and those invited by the state.


http://www.japantoday.com/jp/news/419607

Will this apply to those of us already in Japan? Curses! I should have been more pro-active about commiting acts of terrorism before the Japanese got smart!
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Glenski



Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
PostPosted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 12:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Yes, it applies to you. Unless you are a naturalized citizen or a Zaiinchi, you should expect to get printed and photographed every time you enter Japan. Even permanent resident holders and spouse visa holders.

Prepare for longer lines at immigration.
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GambateBingBangBOOM



Joined: 04 Nov 2003
Posts: 2021
Location: Japan
PostPosted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 1:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
The States started finger printing people. So Japan needs to follow suit and if they can find a way to go one step further (and they did) then they will.

It makes Japanese people feel more secure knowing that outside-(country-)people who are tourists feel less comfortable, because then they may be less likely to use their natural instincts to steal and terrorize and generally not have a Japanese atmosphere about them.
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Glenski



Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
PostPosted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 2:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
GambateBingBangBOOM wrote:
The States started finger printing people. So Japan needs to follow suit and if they can find a way to go one step further (and they did) then they will.

It makes Japanese people feel more secure knowing that outside-(country-)people who are tourists feel less comfortable, because then they may be less likely to use their natural instincts to steal and terrorize and generally not have a Japanese atmosphere about them.


I'm sorry, but this policy is discriminatory. Japan has never been terrorized by foreigners, only by Japanese (!!!), yet only foreigners get printed and photo'd, even those with PR. Yet, there is also a double standard because the special resident Chinese and Koreans are exempt.
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markle



Joined: 17 Jan 2003
Posts: 1316
Location: Out of Japan
PostPosted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 2:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Hmmm

Isn't this one of those things that the government drags out, waits 'til the expat community go bug-eyed batsh it about it (always a good laugh) then quietly not implement it.
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G Cthulhu



Joined: 07 Feb 2003
Posts: 1373
Location: Way, way off course.
PostPosted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 3:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Glenski wrote:
GambateBingBangBOOM wrote:
The States started finger printing people. So Japan needs to follow suit and if they can find a way to go one step further (and they did) then they will.

It makes Japanese people feel more secure knowing that outside-(country-)people who are tourists feel less comfortable, because then they may be less likely to use their natural instincts to steal and terrorize and generally not have a Japanese atmosphere about them.


I'm sorry, but this policy is discriminatory. Japan has never been terrorized by foreigners, only by Japanese (!!!), yet only foreigners get printed and photo'd, even those with PR. Yet, there is also a double standard because the special resident Chinese and Koreans are exempt.



So it's not discrimination you object to per se (in reply to the point that the US does the same thing), it's the particular flavour of discrimination that Japan is applying? Would you be happier if Japan applied the same across-the-board-no-legal-rights-whatsoever form of discrimination that the US uses? What a peculiar position.
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chollimaspeed



Joined: 11 Sep 2007
Posts: 120
PostPosted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 3:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I believe that Brazil introduced fingerprinting at airports after the US made fingerprinting of foreign visitors mandatory. But Brazil only extended this to US citizens, which makes sense in terms of reciprocal relations. All other countries should bring in mandatory photographing and fingerprinting for Japanese citizens and Japanese and US citizens respectively.
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GambateBingBangBOOM



Joined: 04 Nov 2003
Posts: 2021
Location: Japan
PostPosted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 4:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
No, Brazil introduced photo requirements. Then one of the the first American pilots who touched down in Brazil was told he had to have his picture taken because he was from America, so he gave them the finger in the picture. Then he was arrested and put in jail- for how long I don't know.

Here's an article about it:

http://www.japantoday.com/jp/news/285021/all
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chollimaspeed



Joined: 11 Sep 2007
Posts: 120
PostPosted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 6:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
GambateBingBangBOOM wrote:
No, Brazil introduced photo requirements. Then one of the the first American pilots who touched down in Brazil was told he had to have his picture taken because he was from America, so he gave them the finger in the picture. Then he was arrested and put in jail- for how long I don't know.

Here's an article about it:

http://www.japantoday.com/jp/news/285021/all


Cheers for that.
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Glenski



Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN