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November 20, 2007
Pointing the finger
From today, foreign nationals aged 16 or older visiting Japan will be fingerprinted and photographed. And its a very bad idea.
Those of you living outside Japan may not have heard about the country's new immigration laws. Inspired by the US-VISIT program, they require that foreign passport holders aged 16 or older who do not enjoy special status (i.e. those who are not diplomats, Koreans born in Japan, etc.) will be fingerprinted and photographed as they arrive at one of Japan's 27 airports or 126 seaports.
The reason given for the changes: to prevent terrorism. But its pretty obvious that the real reason is political point-scoring. In Japan, as in the US, Australia and so many other countries around the world, pandering to the electorate's fear of foriegners wins votes.
Not surprisingly, long-term foreign residents are up in arms about these changes. What's really making people angry is that unlike in the US, the Japanese system will not make exceptions for those who are married to Japanese or have been in the country for several years. Married to a Japanese and living here for thirty years? Too bad. Only Japanese passport holders will be exempt.
With its racist overtones (only foreigners are terrorists!) and seemingly ad-hoc implementation (only last week, it was announced that Narita will have separate lines for resident-permit holders and tourits) there has been a strong reaction from foreign residents, human rights advocates, frequent visitors to the country and those who simply don't want Japan to go the way of the United States.
Its good to see that some aren't going to take all of this lying down. Unlike the mainstream Japanese media, which has a blind-spot for any news item concerning foreigners who don't belong to criminal gangs, there has been a healthy level of debate on the internet about the new regulations. Leading the charge is activist Arudou Debito, whose site Debito.org is a veritable clearing-house of information on the issue. Trans-Pacific Media, too, has been following the story closely. In their latest BizCast Japan podcast, Albrecht Stahmer and Ken Worsley shed some light on the fingerprinting issue, and point out the negative consequences for business travellers as well as long-term residents.
If you live in Japan and you haven't been keeping up with the issue, I encourage you to do so. And be sure to explain the new regulations to your Japanese friends. Like Debito, I really feel that in this case protest can make a difference.
Posted by Marcus at 7:21 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
November 16, 2007
Alec Soth
I recently came across a link to the website of American photographer, Alec Soth. From Minneapolis, Minnesota, he is best known for his large format work, particularly his haunting portraits.
Check out Dog Days, a collection of photographs he made while in Bogotá, Colombia. There is something very disturbing about these images of stray dogs, untidy bedrooms and empty streets. Like fellow Magnum shooter Alex Webb, Soth's images are ostensibly photojournalism, yet they always seem to provoke more questions than provide answers.
In the case of Dog Days, Soth and his wife had gone to Colombia to adopt a baby girl. During the two months that it took for all of the paperwork to be completed, Soth went out and shot photos. He writes, "Carmen's birthmother gave her a book filled with letters, pictures and poems. 'I hope that the hardness of the world will not hurt your sensitivity," she wrote, "When I think about you I hope that your life is full of beautiful things.' With those words as a mission statement, I began making my own book for Carmen. In photographing the city of her birth, I hope I've described some of the beauty in this hard place."
Soth has an amazing body of work, and there is plenty of it online. He also has a blog where he writes about his photography, keeps poems and discusses the work of other photographers. Well worth a look.
Posted by Marcus at 2:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 14, 2007
The gain plan
I see Born Dancin' made the front of The Sunday Age's magazine this week with an insider's view of game shows.
Ever fancied yourself a game show contestant? Born Dancin' gives the low-down not just about how to get on a show, but how not to behave when you inevitably miss out on the big money.
Particularly impressive is the accompanying photo - one can sense the determination, the will to win (plus a little morbid fear) in his eyes.
Posted by Marcus at 12:36 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
November 11, 2007
Online Photoshop
It looks as though Adobe will release the online version of Photoshop by the end of the year. While it will only be in beta, it is bound to attract a lot of attention, especially among those who have held off buying Photoshop because of its rather hefty price tag. For those of us who already use Photoshop or Lightroom on a daily basis, its unlikely to provide tools that we don't already have. Nevertheless, it will still be interesting to see how Adobe adapts their flagship product for the web. Hopefully, Adobe's entry into the world of online photo editing won't kill off the other free photo editing tools already out there.
Posted by Marcus at 2:02 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack