Ten Thousand Things

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Yokoso! Japan adds fingerprinting to welcome of foreign visitors

MARCH 7, 2006: In Japan, immigration bill sent to Parliament
Reuters

Japan will be adding fingerprinting and photographing to its welcoming of all foreign visitors under a proposed law to counter terrorism.

The bill, which will be submitted to the Diet's current session, aims at preventing people from entering Japan under false identities. It requires foreign visitors must present personal identification data in electromagnetic format, such as fingerprints and photographs, as defined by Justice Ministry ordinances. This information will be matched against the information of past deportees.

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, would be excluded from this requirement.

The U.S. has been scanning index fingers of visitors since 2004.

Human rights activists and the Japan Federation of Bar Associations (Nichibenren) opposes the proposed blanket fingerprinting, arguing it infringes on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights:

...the issue is a particularly sensitive one in Japan, where until 2000, local governments were required to fingerprint all foreign resident, including "special permanent residents," many of whom are descendants of Chinese and Koreans brought to Japan as forced labor before 1945.

Last year, tourism was at an all-time high for Japan, with around 6.73 million visitors. The Japanese government wants to increase that amount to 10 million by 2010.

Most of Japan's foreign visitors come from Asia, with over 200 to 300 thousand Korean and Taiwanese visitors (mostly tourists) coming to Japan every month. About 53 to 81 thousand North Americans (roughly two/thirds are tourists) visit Japan every month. And 40 to 60 thousand Chinese people visit (roughly one fourth are tourists) Japan every month.

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