I understand that a country as wealthy, and crime free as Japan, can afford to have some of the most thorough procedures in the world. But as the owner of my private data, I have the right to a written declaration of their intentions. When asked for a disclosure that the fingerprints are for immigration purposes only, and are not, for example, sold to the exploding personal data collection industry, they flat out refused. I was sternly informed, as if I was in need of scolding for asking, that if I did not submit, I would be deported. During the deportation procedure, they would TAKE my fingerprints. Yokoso Japan my *ss.

I was not aware of the depth of the arrogance of the immigration people, as if I really needed to see Japan. I didn’t. People need to be aware, Libertarians are not welcome in the US, or Japan.

I was warned recently that lines could take a while as older peoples’ fingerprints are harder to take, and given the generally older age range of foreigners entering Japan, this could be an issue.

Using the threat (repeatedly)of “simultaneous attacks” is ridiculous as there is no causality between immigration and terrorism – the people perpetrating the crime in London were actually British. Remember the Shoe bomber?

How about using a false Japanese passport? People doing that would not even be interviewed.

I don’t mind a certain level of registration: Justice and Immigration both already have my details. The university where I do evening study has all my details, my company, my health insurance, etc have so many private details. The question is, how is it used.

Fingerprints as a biometric identification is a poor choice:

1. It has the stigma of criminal to it.
2. People leave fingerprints everywhere, so the chance of you being connected to a crime without any involvement is much more increased.
3. Fingerprint scanners can be easily fooled

Instead Iris recognition would have been a better choice:
1. You don’t leave an “iris-print”, so the data is only useful for stated purpose: checking that the person in front of the officer is who he claims he is
2. Iris scanners don’t have the stigma of crime, but rather the air of thrill and excitement – like James Bond entering a secure compound

I hope that the procedure will at least be painless for re-entry permit holders. Maybe with the automated gates it will even be quicker than previously … and I can cut down on the entry stamps in my passport.

If you are interested in ordering please contact Jon Dujmovich jon@imaginationink.biz tel. 053 476-4677

To ‘voice’ your displeasure with the policy please wear your t-shirt proudly as you pass through the immigration procedures at customs and immigration control.

And don’t forget to sign the petition…
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/fingerprints-japan/index.html

In a modern day society population control is essential. Like it or not 9/11 did change the world, and it didn’t just make the US react, it made other governments fearful that the carnage would be brought to their towns and cities. It’s called being proactive.

Japan has been xenophobic throughout their entire history. Why are people surprised by this? In fact this is probably the most lenient they’ve been, allowing more visas than before. But with this must come some method of control, in this case a photograph and a fingerprint. They come out and state it, it’s a method of immigration control. They don’t want you doing bad stuff during your stay or overstaying your visa. Yes, you may not be a criminal, but that doesn’t mean the person behind you in line isn’t one.

Check out here: http://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/traffick.html for more reasons why they implemented this.

I guess I don’t find this surprising, and it’s something I would have expected anyways. US citizens are losing their rights to privacy, so I don’t find it shocking that the same thing would be happening to foreigners in other countries.

I don’t know what’s scarier — this new immigration law, or people like US Cit and D-san defending it. A little information for you two — not all of us want to live like we’re in the American military thank you very much.

The only real way ‘we’ can do anything about it is to not go to Japan. Perhaps if there is a dramatic drop in tourism after this has been fully implemented, the people in charge will quickly revert back. With Japan working hard to increase tourism, this really seems like a bad time for such a bad idea.

ps. America hates you, but likes your money and cheap labor. j/k lighten up!

As a citizen of the US I don’t feel any better about treating visitors to my country as terrorists (the reentry procedure for citizens is only slightly less humiliating) and I definitely don’t agree with the prevailing attitudes towards security. That said, I can’t help but wonder which is the more xenophobic country — let’s hope both improve.

(As a note, here’s an interesting essay about the oft repeated “nothing to hide” fallacy, titled appropriately ‘I’ve Got Nothing to Hide’ and Other Misunderstandings of Privacy.)

First of all, if you take the “if you are innocent, what do you have to hide” thinking and apply it everywhere. Why not allow people to access the contents of your PC or search your home any time they want? If you have nothing to hide, what’s the difference. Fingerprinting is an invasion of privacy and is no different than giving up genetic samples for no reason. Would you urinate in a bottle for no reason or give a hair and skin sample?

Beyond that, there’s the fact that the criminal justice system in Japan is set up in such a way that you absolutely cannot feel confidant that your information won’t be misused. If you were on a train where a terrorist act occurred and your fingerprints are around and you had a blog which expressed irritation about how rude people are on crowded trains, you can bet there’s a good chance the police will be detaining you despite the fact that thousands of other prints may be on the train.

The problem is that information can be misused too easily, particularly when scapegoating and getting a conviction is more important than the truth (which it seriously is in Japan). This is not a country that relies on evidence much. They act on a little information then try to berate the suspect into admitting he’s guilty and now feels remorse. This is not an exaggeration. I’ve been doing research on this topic for the past 8 months and it’s really pretty scary.

Finally, there’s the fact that Japan has mainly suffered home-grown terrorism and only foreigners are being printed. The fact that the U.S. is stripping people of their rights right and left is no excuse for other developed countries to jump on the bandwagon as well.

The bottom line is this is obfuscation of the political issues with real meaning in Japan. Taxes have been raised. The economy is stagnant. Good jobs are getting scarcer. So, the politicians here are doing the same thing politicians do everywhere and re-focusing on a non-issue – bad foreigners.

Oh yes, everyone knows that (a) the only people who would commit terrorist attacks in Japan are those damned foreigners (Aum? Who dat?), and (b) all terrorists are on a nice neat database with their fingerprints recorded. So this is either going to be a huge success or it going to be a tit-for-tat thing by Japanese sick of similar treatment in the US.

I personally don’t like the argument of ‘if you’ve got nothing to hide…’. Lot’s of people say that about the illegal phone tapings and general illegal spying that is going on in the US, and I think it’s bogus then too. What ever happened to innocent until proven guilty? Now, granted when you’re entering a foreign country it’s a different story all together, but they could at least ‘return’ you’re fingerprint when they’re done.

I see no harm in this. Japan is just jumping on the bandwagon, they’ve already done it in the States. My fingerprints are already all over the place.

I’m in the military.

You gotta make everyone jump through the hoop in order to avoid singling one Country/Culture/Race out in the name of security.

To get the H1 visa, I had to prove 12 years of experience or 4 of University (technical bachelor). Also a company has to sponsor you and they need to demonstrate that they cannot find any US citizen that can fill that position. I’m an engineer and I pay full taxes and social security.
Every time I get into US from abroad, I have to go through the screening process. Fingerprints, Photographs, they check my records, they ask me questions, … Usually takes about two hours to go through and it’s a very humiliating process.
My wife has an H4 visa (she is married to an H1 visa holder) which means she is not even eligible for a social security number. Of course she cannot work, but things like obtaining a drivers license or a tax number (so we can fill joint taxes) is an ordeal for her.
I’m happy I was able to come to the US to work, since here are the best companies in my field (visual effects), people are great and work is a blast, but I would never live in this country. A lot of things are fucked up, and it’s a shame other places like Japan are taking clues on it. At least they won’t confiscate your bottle of water in Japan as a dangerous terrorist weapon…

[Thanks to Stephen, who says he won’t be taking any post November 27th trips to Japan, for e-mailing me about this video. ]

I also plan on not leaving Japan until a) I’m sure I’ll either never return, or b) this goes away. There was a such a long fight that was only recently won against fingerprinting all potential criminals foreigners upon entry and it’s almost as though they were just waiting for an excuse to do it again. The worst part is, the US does it too, so any criticism on gives can easily be thrown back at the US.