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Gaijin da!
When I lived Over There, I was fingerprinted and had to carry a photo ID card - called it my "Martian pass" - with me at all times, and had to report annually at the police station, also any time I changed addresses.
I wonder if my son will be included in this scheme when he's old enough and travelling back and forth between here and There. Probably, since he won't be a fully Japanese citizen in the legal sense (and will never be Japanese in the cultural sense, anyway).
Anyway, the real target of this measure is the Iranians and Pakistanis who live a semi-legal, undocumented existence in the larger Japanese cities as day labourers and petty criminals. Again, if you're white in Japan, you are definitely Not From Around Here and therefore an object of mixed curiosity and suspicion, but are generally given a pass.
Japan passes measure to fingerprint foreigners
Last Updated Wed, 17 May 2006 12:04:12 EDT
CBC News
Japan's cabinet has given final approval to a plan to fingerprint and photograph all adult foreigners entering the country, six years after the country dropped a similar requirement because of privacy concerns.
Cabinet made the decision Wednesday, a day after its parliament's Upper House approved a bill toughening security measures.
Among other measures in the same bill:
- Japan's justice minister will be able to expel foreigners who are suspected of involvement in terrorist activities.
- Airlines and ship lines will have to provide passenger and crew lists before they arrive in Japan.
Japan's lower house approved the bill in March. Now that it's been approved by cabinet, its measures are expected to take effect in November 2007.
After that date, in order to enter the country, those born outside Japan and aged 16 or older will have to agree to be photographed and have electronic images of their fingerprints taken.
The images will be checked against those in international crime and terrorism databases, as well as domestic crime records, and then stored for an unspecified time.
The only exceptions will be state guests, diplomats and permanent residents of Japan.
Japan fingerprinted all arriving foreigners until 2000, when the requirement was dropped because of a public outcry over invasion of privacy.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has been pressing for the measure to be resumed, claiming that it will decrease crime and protect the country from terrorist activity.
Japan believes it is a potential target for militants linked to al-Qaeda because it has troops in Iraq as part of the American-led coalition keeping order in the country.
Japan recorded about 7.5 million foreign visits in 2005.
The United States has also brought in security measures that require all arriving foreigners to be fingerprinted. Canadians and Mexicans are exempt from the requirement.
I wonder if my son will be included in this scheme when he's old enough and travelling back and forth between here and There. Probably, since he won't be a fully Japanese citizen in the legal sense (and will never be Japanese in the cultural sense, anyway).
Anyway, the real target of this measure is the Iranians and Pakistanis who live a semi-legal, undocumented existence in the larger Japanese cities as day labourers and petty criminals. Again, if you're white in Japan, you are definitely Not From Around Here and therefore an object of mixed curiosity and suspicion, but are generally given a pass.
Japan passes measure to fingerprint foreigners
Last Updated Wed, 17 May 2006 12:04:12 EDT
CBC News
Japan's cabinet has given final approval to a plan to fingerprint and photograph all adult foreigners entering the country, six years after the country dropped a similar requirement because of privacy concerns.
Cabinet made the decision Wednesday, a day after its parliament's Upper House approved a bill toughening security measures.
Among other measures in the same bill:
- Japan's justice minister will be able to expel foreigners who are suspected of involvement in terrorist activities.
- Airlines and ship lines will have to provide passenger and crew lists before they arrive in Japan.
Japan's lower house approved the bill in March. Now that it's been approved by cabinet, its measures are expected to take effect in November 2007.
After that date, in order to enter the country, those born outside Japan and aged 16 or older will have to agree to be photographed and have electronic images of their fingerprints taken.
The images will be checked against those in international crime and terrorism databases, as well as domestic crime records, and then stored for an unspecified time.
The only exceptions will be state guests, diplomats and permanent residents of Japan.
Japan fingerprinted all arriving foreigners until 2000, when the requirement was dropped because of a public outcry over invasion of privacy.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has been pressing for the measure to be resumed, claiming that it will decrease crime and protect the country from terrorist activity.
Japan believes it is a potential target for militants linked to al-Qaeda because it has troops in Iraq as part of the American-led coalition keeping order in the country.
Japan recorded about 7.5 million foreign visits in 2005.
The United States has also brought in security measures that require all arriving foreigners to be fingerprinted. Canadians and Mexicans are exempt from the requirement.