Japan To Fingerprint All Travellers

[cdnvic]

Japan to fingerprint, photograph foreigners as anti-terror measure

Last Updated: Friday, October 26, 2007 | 8:08 AM ET

The Associated Press

Japan hopes to thwart potential terrorists from entering the country by fingerprinting and photographing all foreigners aged 16 or over on entry starting next month, an official said Friday.

Only some permanent residents, diplomatic visitors and children under 16 will be exempt from the measures after the system goes into effect Nov. 20, Immigration Bureau official Takumi Sato said.

Under the new system, all adults will be photographed and fingerprinted on arrival in Japan. Incoming aircraft and ship operators also will be obliged to provide passenger and crew lists before they arrive.

Resident foreigners will be required to go through the procedure every time they re-enter Japan.

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2007/10/26/j...erprinting.html

[Ijustwannateach]

Reciprocation, please! I want all Japanese travellers to be photographed and fingerprinted in EVERY country they enter.

[LaoPo]

Japan to fingerprint, photograph foreigners as anti-terror measure

Last Updated: Friday, October 26, 2007 | 8:08 AM ET

The Associated Press

Japan hopes to thwart potential terrorists from entering the country by fingerprinting and photographing all foreigners aged 16 or over on entry starting next month, an official said Friday.

Only some permanent residents, diplomatic visitors and children under 16 will be exempt from the measures after the system goes into effect Nov. 20, Immigration Bureau official Takumi Sato said.

Under the new system, all adults will be photographed and fingerprinted on arrival in Japan. Incoming aircraft and ship operators also will be obliged to provide passenger and crew lists before they arrive.

Resident foreigners will be required to go through the procedure every time they re-enter Japan.

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2007/10/26/j...erprinting.html

Japan has some 8 Million incoming International Visitors/year (5,5 Million Jan>August 2007)*

They will not be amused...

Bad for tourism !

* http://www.tourism.jp/english/statistics/inbound/

LaoPo

[Tywais]

Hope it's electronic fingerprinting or else their nice shiny terminal may start looking pretty shabby.

[cdnvic]

Reciprocation, please! I want all Japanese travellers to be photographed and fingerprinted in EVERY country they enter.

It may be prudent to not allow them to fly direct to Hawaii

[londonthai]

warning of antiterrorist measures some 3 weeks before is not the best idea - if somobody is going to come he will do it before that time.

[britmaveric]

most likely be a hand scanner - can't imagine getting ink out!

[pampal]

How is finger printing going to stop suicidal terrorists?

If they aren't afraid to be blown up, a little finger print scanner will not deter them.

It's a silly idea

[think_too_mut]

How is finger printing going to stop suicidal terrorists?

If they aren't afraid to be blown up, a little finger print scanner will not deter them.

It's a silly idea

US Immigration has been doing finger printing for a while, do they think it's a silly idea?

What is stupid about Japanese fingerprinting - all terrorist attacks that took place in Japan were by - Japanese. When people like them travel, they won't be fingerprinted.

There is one thing called "Allien Registration Card", every legal foreigner has it. City counclils abandoned finger printing of foreigners in 2000.

While Japan is launching "Yokoso Japan" (Welcome to Japan) tourism campaign, this new hassle will not help at all. BTW, number of foreign visitors to Japan in 2006. was 6.7 million. I bet 60+% of them are already residing individuals (like me) who go in and out 10+ times a year.

Two days "I have been to Japan" backpackers stumbling around trying to get the map right and packaged Taiwanese won't mind much.

The real losers here are people like me - until now, we were welcome to queue in "Japanes passport" queue.

In the press, there is strong oposition to fingerprinting and it does not look 100% certain it will happen. If it does, I believe it will be some smart device - like holding your finger on a pad while cam takes your pic. Can't believe the ink will flow.

[think_too_mut]

""We hope the system will help keep terrorists out of the country, and also put at ease the minds of both the Japanese people and the foreigners who come here," Sato said.

The bureau plans to store the data for "a long time," Sato said, while refusing to disclose how long due to security concerns.

It is unclear how many people will be affected; Japan saw 8.11 million foreign entries in 2006, Sato said."

What an idiot. Those gas-poisoning people on Tokyo trains, Japanese nationals, won't be "stored" in his databases.

[onethailand]

Has anyone seen a more complete description of how this fingerprinting process works, and how it will be used in the future?

In HK, all residents and ID card holders are now fingerprinted and their data stored on a smart ID card. Once you have this ID, you can enter and leave the country through an electronic gate where you insert your ID, pass through the first gate, put your thumb on the scanner for verification, whereupon the second gate opens and you're through immigration. Takes 10 seconds.

If Japan implements a similar concept, where visitors only have to put their thumb on a scanner for a few seconds before being allowed through, I would be all for this concept and plenty happy to go through the hassle once.

If, on the other hand, it is going to make passing through immigration worse than it already is (average minimum wait 30 minutes), I surmise that the majority of people will be a bit aggrieved.

[Johpa]

Only some permanent residents, diplomatic visitors and children under 16 will be exempt from the measures after the system goes into effect Nov. 20, Immigration Bureau official Takumi Sato said.

Well I reckon that leaves a pretty large gap in safety.

[ThaidleHands]

Incoming aircraft and ship operators also will be obliged to provide passenger and crew lists before they arrive.

Is it not already the case that most countries receive the passenger manifest of an inbound international flight before the plane actually arrives?

[cclub75]

If they aren't afraid to be blown up, a little finger print scanner will not deter them.

One word : "traceability".

Like the 5554552445 and counting security cameras in London. It did nothing to prevent the attacks in the subway and buses.

However, they were fantastic for the investigations.

I wish we could have the same in France... not against terrorists but against illegal migrants, thousands of people coming with a "tourist visa". Now, that would be a serious deterrent !

Can you imagine a database of fingerprints of people arriving in a country... linked after with police investigations datas ?

Next step : DNA samples scanner. At the airports.

Okay, okay it's 1984 and the Brave New World, but that would do the trick (from a security point of view).

Edited October 27, 2007 by cclub75

[pampal]

How is finger printing going to stop suicidal terrorists?

If they aren't afraid to be blown up, a little finger print scanner will not deter them.

It's a silly idea

US Immigration has been doing finger printing for a while, do they think it's a silly idea?

What is stupid about Japanese fingerprinting - all terrorist attacks that took place in Japan were by - Japanese. When people like them travel, they won't be fingerprinted.

There is one thing called "Allien Registration Card", every legal foreigner has it. City counclils abandoned finger printing of foreigners in 2000.

While Japan is launching "Yokoso Japan" (Welcome to Japan) tourism campaign, this new hassle will not help at all. BTW, number of foreign visitors to Japan in 2006. was 6.7 million. I bet 60+% of them are already residing individuals (like me) who go in and out 10+ times a year.

Two days "I have been to Japan" backpackers stumbling around trying to get the map right and packaged Taiwanese won't mind much.

The real losers here are people like me - until now, we were welcome to queue in "Japanes passport" queue.

In the press, there is strong oposition to fingerprinting and it does not look 100% certain it will happen. If it does, I believe it will be some smart device - like holding your finger on a pad while cam takes your pic. Can't believe the ink will flow.

You have a good point, how do you stop home grown terrorists? 

Edited October 28, 2007 by pampal

[lazeeboy]

How is finger printing going to stop suicidal terrorists?

If they aren't afraid to be blown up, a little finger print scanner will not deter them.

It's a silly idea

US Immigration has been doing finger printing for a while, do they think it's a silly idea?

What is stupid about Japanese fingerprinting - all terrorist attacks that took place in Japan were by - Japanese. When people like them travel, they won't be fingerprinted.

There is one thing called "Allien Registration Card", every legal foreigner has it. City counclils abandoned finger printing of foreigners in 2000.

While Japan is launching "Yokoso Japan" (Welcome to Japan) tourism campaign, this new hassle will not help at all. BTW, number of foreign visitors to Japan in 2006. was 6.7 million. I bet 60+% of them are already residing individuals (like me) who go in and out 10+ times a year.

Two days "I have been to Japan" backpackers stumbling around trying to get the map right and packaged Taiwanese won't mind much.

The real losers here are people like me - until now, we were welcome to queue in "Japanes passport" queue.

In the press, there is strong oposition to fingerprinting and it does not look 100% certain it will happen. If it does, I believe it will be some smart device - like holding your finger on a pad while cam takes your pic. Can't believe the ink will flow.

You have a good point, how do you stop home grown terrorists?

in this day and age anything that slows down terrorism is a good thing ,if you've nothing to hide i dont see a problem.

[LaoPo]

Japan fingerprints foreigners as anti-terror move

A man living in Japan takes part in a protest against fingerprinting foreigners entering Japan in front of Japan's Justice Ministry in Tokyo November 20, 2007.

NARITA, Japan (Reuters) - Japan began fingerprinting foreigners entering the country on Tuesday in an anti-terrorism policy that has sparked complaints from human right activists, business travelers and long-term residents.

"At a time when terrorism is occurring throughout the world, we want foreigners entering Japan to cooperate, and to understand that it is better for them as well that Japan be safe," said Hisashi Toshioka, head of the Immigration Bureau at Narita airport, the main international airport serving Tokyo.

"The biggest objective is to prevent terrorism."

Critics, however, say the new procedures reflect a deeply entrenched view in Japan of foreigners as more likely to commit crimes and plays down the possibility of home-grown terrorism.

"In Japan, fingerprinting has been limited to those arrested for crimes, so treating foreigners the same way is a serious human rights violation," said Mitsuru Namba, a lawyer at the Japan Federation of Lawyers Associations.

"The government says the aim is to prevent terrorism, but in the background is discrimination linking foreigners with crime and overstaying visas," Namba said, noting the data would be kept even after a visitor was deemed not to be a terrorist suspect.

Some foreign visitors arriving at Narita were unfazed by the new procedures, which involve electronic scanning of both index fingers as well as taking a digital facial photo.

The data is compared with international and domestic lists and anyone considered to be a terrorist -- or refusing to cooperate -- will be denied entry and deported.

"It didn't bother me at all. It was pretty uninvasive," said Jake Heinrich, 33, an Australian who works at a language school.

"These days, it probably makes you feel a little safer."

The measures are similar to the "U.S. Visit" system introduced in the United States after the September 11 attacks in 2001.

In a nod to historical sensitivities, "special" permanent residents of Korean and Chinese origin -- many born in Japan and descended from those brought as forced labor before and during World War Two -- are exempt, as are diplomats and children under 16.

GLOBAL BUSINESS

Fingerprinting of such residents was abolished in 1992 after a lengthy campaign, while fingerprinting of all foreign residents ended in 2000.

"Japanese will get the message that foreigners are incipient criminals," said Choi Sun-ae, a Korean resident of Japan who campaigned to abolish fingerprinting and on Tuesday took part in a protest outside the Justice Ministry in Tokyo.

Unlike the United States, Japan requires resident foreigners as well as visitors to be fingerprinted and photographed every time they re-enter the country, although if they pre-register they can go through a fast-track line.

That has angered many resident foreigners, who have until now been able to line up with Japanese for faster processing.

"My husband is Japanese. I have two Japanese adult children working in Tokyo. I feel slightly insulted," said Briton Jennifer Ukawa, 69, who has lived in Japan off and on since 1969 and also took part in Tuesday's protest.

Britain this month began requiring people applying for UK visas to have their fingerprints scanned and photographs taken digitally.

Some worry that longer lines at points of entry could discourage tourists and business travelers, even as Japan tries to polish its image as a tourist destination and global financial centre.

"Suddenly grouping long-term residents and taxpayers in Japan with occasional visitors risks creating excessive delays for frequent business travelers and imposing unacceptable costs on businesses," said the European Business Council in Japan and the Australian and New Zealand Chamber of Commerce in Japan in a letter to the Justice Ministry.

Immigration officials said the procedures went smoothly on Tuesday morning except for a glitch with one machine and that the average wait was 20 minutes.

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/i...0071120?sp=true

LaoPo

Edited November 20, 2007 by LaoPo

[ZukiSuzuki]

Reciprocation, please! I want all Japanese travellers to be photographed and fingerprinted in EVERY country they enter.

A few racist comments showing through on this thread, the U.S. has been doing this for some time already.

US to fingerprint more foreign visitors

(Xinhua)

Updated: 2004-04-03 09:43

A program requiring foreigners to be fingerprinted and photographed before entering the United States is being expanded to include millions of travelers from some of America's staunchest allies, U.S. officials said Friday.

The move affects citizens in 27 countries — including Britain, Japan and Australia — who had been allowed to travel within the United States without visas for up to 90 days. Officials said the change was prompted in part by concerns that terrorists might try to exploit those exemptions.

While foreign governments expressed understanding, a U.S. travel organization worried the new restrictions could limit trips to America just as the number of foreign visitors was returning to the levels of before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The changes in the US-VISIT program will take effect by Sept. 30. Travelers from the 27 countries will be fingerprinted and photographed each time they enter the United States through any of 115 international airports and 14 seaports. The program will be expanded to border crossings later.

Citizens from those countries still won't have to go through the consulate interviews and background checks that people from other nations must do to obtain visas.

There are no changes in unique rules covering visits by Canadians and Mexicans.

The 27 countries are: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

The Bush administration made the move after determining most of the so-called "visa-waiver countries" won't meet an October deadline to have biometric passports, said Asa Hutchinson, undersecretary for border and transportation security. Such passports include fingerprint and iris identification features that make the documents virtually impossible to counterfeit. U.S. passports haven't been upgraded with those features yet, either.

Hutchinson said the change will enhance security while ensuring that law-abiding visitors are not subjected to lengthy secondary screenings at the border.

But he also said the decision was based on intelligence that "terrorists would look to programs such as the visa-waiver program to exploit because of fewer security checks."

The US-VISIT program was passed by Congress in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. In January, the government began fingerprinting and photographing visitors from nations other than the visa-waiver countries. About 2.6 million people have been processed so far and more than 200 with prior or suspected criminal or immigration violations have been stopped, according to Homeland Security.

http://www2.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/...tent_320345.htm

[pgs]

UK is also following suit:

(mX, Nov 15 - mX is a Newscorp paper)

"Britain gets very personal with travelers.

The British government has unveiled plans to take up to 53 pieces of information from everyone entering or leaving the country.

Security officials want credit card details, holiday contact numbers, travel plans, email addresses, any previously missed flights, car number plates and even frequent flyer points.

The information - taken by operators when a person buys their air ticket - will be shared with police, customs, immigration and the security services for at least 24 hours before a journey takes place.

Anybody the authorities are unhappy with can be rejected.

The new measures are part of a $1.48 billion contract that heralds electronic checks on everyone entering or leaving Britain."

Not so sure I'm happy with giving them the CC details - or email addresses for that matter.

Edited November 21, 2007 by pgs

[SiriusBlack1]

It's a dumb idea in the United States, and in Japan it's even dumber.

At least in the States the terrorists come from someplace else.

In Japan, they've had the Red Army in the '70s and Aum Shinrikyo in the '90s. Both home-grown. Foreign terrorists? Nada.

So, naturally, fingerprint the foreigners.

I arrive there tomorrow, wish me luck.

[PhilHarries]

"Britain gets very personal with travelers.

The British government has unveiled plans to take up to 53 pieces of information from everyone entering or leaving the country.

Security officials want credit card details, holiday contact numbers, travel plans, email addresses, any previously missed flights, car number plates and even frequent flyer points.

I don't have a credit card.

I very rarely have contact numbers as book via e mail. Does this also extend to business trips?

I rarely make full and detailed plans. I fly to Thailand (mostly) and take it from there. What about backpackers?

e mail address ? I want to see their data protection procedures before handing this info over. Otherwise I'll just open a scrap hotmail account.

I have only missed one flight, that was LHR to Aberdeen back in around 1980. Does this make me a potential terrorist?

I don't own a car, but rent one anytime I'm back in the UK.

I do not belong to any frequent flyer programs as very rarely travel on the same carrier consequetive trips.

Does this mean I'll be refused travel? I'm not one of these "big brother paranoids" and would quite welcome the introduction of a national identity card but object to personal data being given over to faceless burocrats.

Compared to this a little piccy and fingerprints at Tokyo is nothing.

[retiredusn]

If it slow's the scum down at all its worth it...................Do not believe this is a big deal