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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 November 20, 2007 7:21 AM
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Comments
marcus,
I completely agree, it is apalling! Just yesterday I was literally harrassed on a bus in Narita. Things are getting worse, not just at the Airport.
Tell you about it when I see you next.
Posted by: Kento at November 26, 2007 1:59 AM