Foreigners get fingerprinted

2007-11-20 12:01

Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura

Tokyo - Japan began fingerprinting and photographing foreigners entering the country on Tuesday in an effort to tighten security, despite concerns by rights groups and business leaders.

Japan modelled the tighter immigration controls on the controversial US-Visit system launched in the United States after the September 11 2001 attacks, which keeps biometric data of foreign visitors.

"This has the very large objective of preventing terrorism," Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama said as he slid his two index fingers onto a scanner at Narita airport near Tokyo in a demonstration for reporters on Monday.

"Privacy issues are a matter of perception and so I would like everyone to bear with us. Since we are treating individuals' private information it will be strictly protected," he said.

The system requires all foreign visitors aged 16 years and older to scan their fingerprints and submit to photographs on arrival, with the potential for follow-up questions from immigration officials.

Unlike in the United States, where green card holders are exempt, Japan will extend the controls to foreign permanent residents.

The only foreigners who can bypass the system are "special residents" - ethnic Koreans and Chinese who were forcefully brought to Japan before and during World War II and their descendants.

Concerns over privacy

The system is costing 36.5 billion yen and scanners will be installed at 415 airports and seaports across the country.

Japan also has 128 portable scanners on hand.

Human rights activists have voiced concerns about privacy and the possible affect of the new conditions on how foreigners are perceived in Japan.

"Forcing entering foreigners to give their biometric information is based on the preconceived notion that 'all foreigners are terrorists'," Amnesty International Japan said.

Some 60 demonstrators, mostly Westerners along with some Koreans, rallied outside the justice ministry in central Tokyo early on Tuesday, carrying a giant balloon representing an index finger and signs showing fingerprint images covered by the word "No!"

"One must not forget that equating non-Japanese with criminals is a great insult and indignity," said a statement issued at the demonstration, which Amnesty helped organise.

Japan, which largely sees itself as ethnically homogeneous, is a close US ally and hub for US troops which has faced repeated threats by al-Qaeda, in part for supporting the Iraq war.

Last month Justice Minister Hatoyama caused a storm when he said he had a friend of a friend who was an al-Qaeda terrorist and had infiltrated Japan several times using different identities. He later played down his remarks.

Foreign business leaders are worried that the system will create another layer of red tape in the world's second largest economy, which has been trying to draw more tourists and promote itself as Asia's premier financial hub.

Critics say that competitors, such as Singapore and Hong Kong, could gain an advantage if business people on short trips face long waits to enter Japan.

The justice ministry has estimated that the average waiting time will not exceed 20 minutes.

- AFP