Job Discussion Forums

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

Ha! My Dad was the one who volunteered to go out and refuel their hi-jacked aircraft at Fukuoka Airport (also called Itazuke Air Base) when they hijacked the Japan Airlines aircraft to PyongYang soooo many years ago. Funny, you should bring up the subject. That's why my screen name is NCTBA...a favorite quote from the old man!

NCTBA

[Apsara]

I think I can complain about the Japanese fingerprinting without having misplaced priorities. I'm not American or an American resident, neither do I plan to go to the US any time soon.

I am opposed to compulsory fingerprinting of non-criminals in general, but what affects me is that I will be fingerprinted next time I come back into Japan, so that issue is where my priorities lie.

I do agree that it is ironic for Americans to complain about being fingerprinted when they come into Japan- people who live in glass houses etc. They should be writing to their Congressperson or protesting against fingerprinting in their own country in some way if they are opposed to it. As a New Zealander though, until my country starts fingerprinting foreigners (extremely unlikely), I'll focus my attention on the issue that affects me, i.e. the one in Japan.

[J.]

If you haven"t signed the online petition to stop the fingerprinting of non-Japanese, go to this site and add your name. It's going to be sent to several Ministries includiing the Ministry of Injustice. You might also be interested to click on the signatures tab at the top and read how angry and upset foreign residents and visitors are.

The more voices the more likely they'll be listened to.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/fingerprints-japan/

[johanne]

Has something changed with the US policy in the last year because when I was there a year ago, as a Canadian, I wasn't fingerprinted or anything. I just had to show my passport. I know people of other nationalities were being fingerprinted at the time, but not Canadians or American residents with green cards. I'll be there again in late December, so I'm just wondering if this is new.

[wabisabi365]

Same here. I was in San Francisco and Chicago - no fingerprinting or photos. My Irish partner, however, had to do a retina scan and have his fingerprints taken. I was (and still am!) a Canuck, who was just visiting the States, but didn't undergo anything to disprove I was not a terrorist threat.

ws365

[bluefrog]

[G Cthulhu]

[bluefrog]

[Yawarakaijin]

They should just drop the whole anti-terrorism angle, it's laughable. Here is what I can see it being used for.

Say you don't pay your taxes. I know quite a few people who don't, even though they have been here for many years. I bet your name goes into the system and BAM they got you by the balls. You pay up or you are deported. Why you might ask, don't they just come to your house and get you for tax evasion? Because they probably don't have the time or manpower to round up tax evaders. Let's do it at the airport, get them all in one go.

Sayyou join a union or heaven forbid protest government policies. Bam! you are in the system. Japan doesn't have a huge immigrant population at the moment but I think the goverment senses the day when they will have to open up a little more to immigration. This neat little system creates a nice little database to have if those pesky foreigners ever get up to trouble in the future.

Oh, let me count the ways you can abuse a registry of this type.

[Mothy]

[taffer]

Put it this way,
whether one agrees that US paranoia/ security measures after 9/11 are justified or not, the fact is that aside from the North Korean kidnapping of Japanese nationals YEARS AGO, most of us simply don't know what sort of threat has caused this government to adopt America's paranoia/ security measures.

If should be common sense that only persons who are suspects in a criminal proceeding should be subject to this kind of scrutiny.

Without a more detailed explanation for these new procedures, it comes down to being a smack in the face. And plain rude.

[Vince]

This isn't simply about preventing terrorism or even crime. If you're a permanent resident, they have more than enough information on who you are. This seems more like an attempt to track people's movement across borders. Welcome to the barcoded world.

[G Cthulhu]

[wabisabi365]

There seem to be two predominant camps on the subject;

> Camp 1: Permanent/long-term residents in Japan who are not happy being clumped together with "possible terrorists" each time they enter the country. As one previous poster noted, the government certainly has more than enough information on these residents to not warrant repeated photos/fingerprinting. Tracking visitors on tourist visas seems reasonable enough. On the other hand, implying that tax-paying, hardworking residents are suspect simply for being non-Japanese, well, that's not reasonable, and I believe that is the bone of contention here.

> Camp 2: Those who believe that "These are the times, and it's done in the States so keep quiet." I don't know. It seems ironic that this is coming predominantly from Americans (both on and off this forum), people who are citizens of a country that prides itself on a constitution that supports standing up and letting it be known when you feel your rights are being infringed upon. That's what the long-term residents are doing right now - speaking up; I only wish we were doing it in a more aggressive way. Having a debate on Dave's is quite comfortable and anonymous. Doing something in a more public way...? Well, with the present climate of "foreigner = terrorist", really, not many people want to step forward and jeopardize their record as a "good" foreigner.

I have a t-shirt with "Yokoso! Japan printed on both sides. In the middle is what, on first sight appears to be the red, rising sun image. It is in fact a red fingerprint. I don't have the guts to wear it when I go to the airport this Christmas. I don't want to attract attention. There you have my own hesitance and lack of aggression. I'll wear it on the street, but I won't wear it in a situation that could possibly affect my standing as a "good" foreign resident. (Anyone interested in the shirt, pm me, and I'll give you the information).

Anyhow, that's going off on a tangent...

It seems that the two camps can't have a meeting of minds (and never the twain shall meet?) Whatever the case may be, what's done seems to be done. One of the headlines in the paper the day after fingerprinting was implemented was about the process stopping 5 people from entering the country. Terrorists? Al Quaida operatives? Oy. They never said. I wonder why? Possibly because their "capture" had absolutely NOTHING to do with terrorism? I'm not a gambling sort, but I'd be willing to place a pretty high wager on those 5 not being in any way involved in terrorist activities.

Sorry. Long post.

ws365

[bluefrog]