Airport fingerprinting system prevented 846 foreigners from entering Japan
The Ministry of Justice has declared that the biometric fingerprint scanning systems it installed in airports last year have successfully prevented 846 would-be illegal immigrants from entering Japan:
The ministry, which released a report on the system’s first year results on Friday, added that the number of visa overstayers is down 35 percent, compared to the previous year.
“Those illegally entering the country to work are being prevented, and the efficiency of border measures is increasing,” it said.
A total of 748 people were expelled for trying to re-enter the country during the 5-year period following a previous deportation, including 290 Koreans, 137 Filipinos and 83 Chinese. A further 98 — 18 Filipinos, 16 Iranians and 10 Sri Lankans — were deported for using false passports.
There have also been a few cases of immigration identifying suspects wanted by police in connection with crimes through biometric information.
The announcement comes a few days after the government released the results of a survey in which 52% of respondents agreed that increased numbers of foreign tourists made them “concerned about public safety” and there was a need for the government to “take measures” to address such concerns. Oddly, none of the other possible responses to the question allowed survey takers to express their opinions on necessary government actions, so I can’t help but wonder if the whole survey was conducted to produce a result that would display the public’s support for new legislation to give the Justice Ministry more power to crack down on visa fraud.
The Japanese language story about the survey appeared on Yahoo! News, and the top-voted comment (10,690 “I agree” votes) might give one a good idea of the kind of public safety concerns a few survey takers might have been thinking about:
Real tourists should be welcomed.
The problem is those who enter as tourists and become illegal overstayers.
Especially Chinese and Koreans.
The second highest rated comment (8,052 “I agree” votes) made reference to revisions to the nationality law being discussed in the Diet:
People are this worried about tourism, but what if the nationality law is revised?! It will be a free-for-all of crime and espionage!
There were also comments about the bad manners of some Asian tourists, and and a few calling for Japan to once again close itself off from the outside world. Some level-headed realists were also present in the comment thread, pointing out that the new tourism agency and new government policies will only funnel money into corrupt amakudari organizations.
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how many illegal immigrants were discovered before the fingerprints, I think you will find it nearly the same,
Lies ,lies and damn statistics
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Ok, nice, 846 wannabe-illegal immigrants wer caught.
And how many legit tourists, businessmen, etc. were annoyed, bothered and harrassed by this system?
Luckily I’ve already been inside Japan last year when the system has been introduced, but I don’t really look forward to give my biometric data to the authorities when I enter the country the next time.
Same goes for the USA…
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Ta for the link!
That Yahoo! story’s comments are pretty bloody depressing! How reliable are the votes there, do you know? Anyway, as I noted, something needs to be done to address why there is so much mutual hate between Japan and its neighbours.
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It’s Yahoo!…their news comments have always attracted such people.
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Because ALL entering Japan are fingerprinted, it’s important to create the clear association in the public mind between biometric data, criminals and other illegals, and public safety. I think we can expect many similar propaganda efforts in the near future, don’t you, boys and girls?
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Isn’t is just as likely that any percentage reduction in visa overrstayers is due to an equal reduction in the number of visas granted, say, because rising airline ticket prices and fuel surchages this year have cut down the number of less wealthy people trying to fly in?
When politicans use numbers to prove their new pet project works, you can guarantee at the vey least to see possibly honest numbers, but without context which might prove the “successful” statistics to be totally unrelated to the pet project. Or they cn just cherry-pick data, or just make it all up.
This is doubly true for stats about gaijin in Japan.
Gaijin “crime rate ” anyone?
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Good!
Can’t be as bad as the system in the UK – they’re making foreign people carry “foreigner” cards – isn’t a passport enough?
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err…it seems you are not a foreigner in Japan, are you?
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Indeed. Needs to do his research there.
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Do they make you carry ばか外人 cards in Japan or something?
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Anyone remember how much the program cost? Wonder how much per potential worker…er, I mean, “criminal”
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I hope James was being flippant when he wrote:
Because if he’s right, there will be a ‘native’ sho-gakko crimewave of immense proportions!
From the Asahi Shimbun “revisions to the nationality law” link in the article:
Lets keep the crime problem a purely immigrant affair please – and adults only!
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James didn’t write those.
*sigh*
Is reading comprehension becoming a lost art?
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Wait, James lost some art?
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I said he wrote them – not that he is the originator.
Cut & Paste aside, when you quote someone, you have to write what they said or wrote.
*sigh*
Must be difficult constantly picking holes…
Chinese saying:
“Your candle does not glow more brightly, just because you try to make my candle glow dim.”
Now, I wrote this, but I am not the originator…
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For LB who seems to be comprehensively challenged and may need some clarification: ‘this’ refers to the Chinese Saying in my last post.
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Bob:
I translated the second-highest rated comment in the yahoo article linked. Unfortunatey, Yahoo Japan does not keep proper archives, so the original comment thread for the article is no longer available.
But just in case you are wondering, here is the original Japanese it was translated from:
“観光客でもこれだけ不安なのに、国籍法が可決されたらどうなるんだよ。
犯罪やスパイ活動・・やりたい放題じゃないか。 ”
Like LB, I don’t really understand why you would need to suggest I was “being flippant” when reporting the existence of a popular comment. Those word aren’t mine and I didn’t write anything in this post to suggest I agreed with the opinion expressed in them.
OK, acknowledged James. I was simply pointing out a link between revising the nationality law, where children of unmarried Japanese fathers and foreign mothers would gain nationality. This in turn would create a “free-for-all of crime and espionage” apparently caused by children.
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Yawn. After 6 years away from Japan I went through the fingerprint & photo thing for the first time in October and I got my usual ‘Welcome back’. As many have said if you are an ordinary honest law abiding person then it is not a problem.
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No, that is not the issue at all. People who say that seem to think that laws could never change, that all laws are just laws.
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