Visitors To Japan to Be Fingerprinted and Photographed

Beginning Tuesday, foreign visitors aged 16 or over to Japan will be denied entry to the nation unless they register their fingerprints and photos with the Japanese immigration office.

Under a new system which will take effect at 27 airports and 126 ports nationwide, all foreign adults will be photographed by a digital camera and fingerprinted (index finger) by a digital fingerprint reader on arrival in Japan.

If the information indicates that the owner may be dangerous, such as revealing that he or she is a suspected terrorist, the person’s entry will be rejected. The fingerprint information will also be used to monitor the person’s length of stay and criminal record.

Special permanent residents, persons under 16 years of age, diplomatic or official visa holders, and persons invited to visit Japan by the head of a national administrative organization are the only exceptions to this fingerprint obligation.

The headquarters of the Korean Residents Union in Japan issued a statement on Monday, saying, “The new immigration rule is unacceptable because it treats all foreign visitors as criminals.”

In addition, they said, “When the U.S. newly introduced similar system before, it granted exceptions to all permanent residents, unlike Japan, which only applies exceptions to special permanent residents. The Japanese government must rethink these new rules and exempt all permanent residents in Japan from the fingerprint obligation.”

sya@donga.com