Japan fingerprinting laws?

Question

Does anybody have any information regarding the new Japanese fingerprinting laws? Why did the Japanese government implement these laws? Who do they consider to be a threat? I overstayed my tourist visa so would they consider me to be a threat?

Does anybody have any information regarding the new Japanese fingrerprinting laws? Who does the Japanese government consider to be a threat? I overstayed my tourist visa so would i be considered a threar?

Answer 1

the Japanese government want to keep track of who comes who leaves
very easy to understand,
people from anywhere are a possible threat
did you know Japanese people were kidnapped by North korean spies
during the 80's90's?
dont overstay your Visa!
its important to Follow All laws
in Japan, BE Polite.

Answer 2

Sorry I don't know the details of the new law, but it's at least partly a way to keep the US happy - there are lots of Americans living in Japan, including several thousand service people (Army, Navy, etc.). All of the Big 8 (or whatever they're being called these days - the money countries) keep track of non-natives living in and/or passing through the country.
Back in the day (I've been living here more than 20 years), EVERYBODY who wasn't Japanese and who stayed more than 90 days got fingerprinted as a matter of course for what is called the gaikokujintorokushoumeishou (basically the foreigner's identification card, like a US green card). They stopped that several years ago because of protests that it was both racist and made people feel like criminals, but it may be coming back.
Overstaying your visa is a serious breach of both law and etiquette in any country - try that in the US and see how fast you get either tossed out or tossed in the clink! Folks who play those games make it all the harder for those who don't. You might not be thought of so much as a threat as an undesirable ...

Just googled "new Japanese immigration laws" and found this article in The International Herald Tribune for November 18, 2007:
"On Tuesday, Japan will put in place one of the toughest systems in the developed world for monitoring foreign visitors. Modeled on the United States' controversial U.S.-Visit program, it will require foreign citizens to be fingerprinted, photographed and questioned every time they enter Japan.
The screening will extend even to Japan's 2.1 million foreign residents, many of whom fear they will soon face clogged immigration lines whenever they enter the country. People exempted from the checks include children under 16, diplomats and "special permanent residents," a euphemism for Koreans and other Asians brought to Japan as slave laborers during World War II and their descendants.
The authorities say such thorough screening is needed to protect Japan from attacks by foreign terrorists, which many fear here because of Japan's support for the United States in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan."

Could be a major headache for me ... oh, well.

Answer 3

There have been cases where people have been able to sneak into Japan with fake passports or passports with different names on it.

At least one of these persons has been a foreign terrorist who entered Japan on multiple times.
However many of these people are people who have (like you) overstayed their Visa, been deported then attempt to come back into Japan with a different passport, or under a different name.

So its two fold, "catch" terrorists, and catch people attempting to enter/re-enter Japan when they aren't allowed to.

If you overstayed your Visa and left Japan, what did the Japanese government say to you? Many times they give you a ban on re-entering Japan for a certain number, sometimes it can be a few months , it can be up to a 10 year ban (depending on the serverity of the punishment).

--
sobuhutc, your information is not correct:
Japan used to fingerprint all foreigners living in Japan as part of the Alien registration process, however ETHNIC koreans who are residents of Japan (called Zainichi), who have lived in Japan for decades started to protest this, so the Government stopped fingerprinting. These are pretty much Japanese people who never lived in Korea, but due to certain laws can't be Japanese even though they were born and raised in Japan. Had nothing really to do with the Korean government putting pressure.

The new system, fingerprints all incoming foreigners (Except those with special permission, this includes the ethnic korean Zainichi). If someone is a "regular" Korean tourist, they go through fingerprinting like everyone else. Those also exempt are government officials etc.

Even though the Zainichi Koreans in Japan are exempt from fingerprinting, they have joined many other forigners in protest against the new policies as well.

Answer 4

The USA fingerprints visitors and Japan is monkey see, monkey do, when it comes it to the USA. I think the fingerprinting policy will be quietly relaxed sooner or later. The taxpayers are the ones who pay the salaries of the civil servants to maintain a database of millions of useless fingerprints. These fingerprints are supposed to be useful to the same Keystone Cops who didn't make an arrest in the case of the sumo wrestler who was found dead with cigarette burns all over his body. The police actually came to the conclusion he was a careless smoker!

The same people who figured Sarin gas was accidentally created by some guy developing photographs (because if it was terrorists making Sarin it would mean working overtime?!) are supposed to be able to catch Osama Bin-Laden because of fingerprint gizmos at Narita-LOL.

The overstayers or terrorists who are determined enough will just alter their fingerprints with lye and a razorblade to avoid hits on the database-so it's all just so much law-enforcement masturbation. If they were really serious they would use retinal scan technology. Having overstayed you will be subject to at least a one year exclusion once you leave. If you can wait out the year or so before you go back to Japan, then you don't need to mess with your fingerprints.

Answer 5

I don't have much to say on the fingerprinting. I just see it as a security measure so they know who is in their country and whatnot, and with todays current events; i dont blame them.

On another note, if you are still in Japan and your visa has expired I highly suggest you leave. The longer you stay on an expired visa the worser the repercussions. You don't want to end up being forbidden to enter Japan or have restrictions on your passport.

Answer 6

I think michinoku2001's comment about Japan being influenced the US in its approach to law reform is pretty close to the mark. It's just how things work in Japan; especially with law reform. There are good things and bad things about it. Japan isn't the only country that is influenced by US law reforms. On the other hand, many countries (e.g. the EU, ASEAN, OK basically everybody else) looks at what the United Nations is saying about law reform on a particular topic as well as what the US has come up with. Some people think that listening to more voices/a diversity of proposals makes for a more balanced approach. However, at the end of the day, there is a special relationship between the US and Japan when it comes to making new laws which goes back at least as far as WWII which means that Japan is particularly susceptible to following new US (federal) ideas about law; although it tends to 'Japanify' the new law (whatever it is) before adopting it as part of Japanese law.

Anyway, enough of the 'big picture'. I quite fancied getting into the detail of the amended Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act today as it is something I'd like to know about for myself. So here's what I came up with:-

1) Translation of Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act Amendment : Law No.43 of 2006. (Ministry of Justice website): http://www.moj.go.jp/ENGLISH/information/icrr-01.html
I looked through the Act but couldn't find any reference to fingerprinting. However, Article 6(2) says, " The alien given in the main text of the preceding paragraph shall apply for landing to an immigration inspector at the port of entry or departure where he seeks to land and undergo an examination for landing in accordance with the procedures provided for by a Ministry of Justice ordinance." Therefore, the fingerprinting stuff appears not to be authorised in the act itself but instead the act provides for the MOJ to make an ordinance which, I assume, contains the relevant legal basis for fingerprinting aliens when they enter Japan.

Much of the detail that your question asks for about who the law affects is dealt with in Article 5.

2) I looked for a translation of the relevant MoJ ordinance but couldn't find one. However, although I couldn't find the ordinance, I found a Japanese embassy's webpage entitled "Outline of New Immigration Procedures: New Security Requirements in effect for Visitors to Japan" which gives some idea how things are to work.
http://www.mm.emb-japan.go.jp/profile/japanese/pdf/newime.pdf

3) I also fond the a flow chart by the Immigration Bureau of The Minstry of Justice relating to the procedure for the amended Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act
http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/keiziban/happyou/law43_20060524.pdf

4) Finally, the Japan Federation of Bar Associations' comments on the issue of fingerprinting under the new Act made interesting reading and suggests this body that (presumably) represents the views of many members of the Japanese legal profession has concerns (if I put it mildly) about the fingerprinting procedure, based in part on the right to privacy and the control of the use of the information gathered.
http://www.nichibenren.or.jp/en/activities/statements/071011.html

5) Finally, the HURIGHTS OSAKA website has put up a nice page on the topic.
http://www.hurights.or.jp/news/0605/b08_e.html

Hope this helps!

Answer 7

The reason is the same with the US. Actually Japanese company installed the US system as well.

In Japan, in a month since the start (from Nov 20 - Dec 19), 95 foreign visitors were rejected by the machine and couldn't enter Japan, the Ministry of Justice announced.
It exactly works.

Answer 8

This could be a response to Korean presure on Japan. before now they only fingerprinted Koreans and a few othjer, but not caucasian people. So these other people, mainly the Koreans, were putting heavy presure to change. So insetad of abandoning fingerprinting, they're fingerprinting everyone equally.