One foreigner’s perspective on American and Japanese immigration security procedures

Jade OC, a long time reader and commenter of MFT, has graciously posted a detailed comparison of his experiences passing through both US and Japanese airline security and immigration checkpoints as a comment on an earlier blog post on the subject. As I suspect that many of our readers look only at the actual posts and not the comments, I thought I would promote this one to the front page.

As promised, here is my short report on the fingerprinting-immigration process in the US and Japan from the POV of a non-citizen of either (though a resident of Japan).

First big complaint. I never wanted to go to the US at all, at least not the first time. But you cannot bloody transit in the US – there’s no such thing as a transit lounge. Everyone who enters a US airport from outside the country, even if, like me, you are just taking a flight to Canada in about 90 minutes, needs to go through Immigration and Customs. This is seriously Fucked Up.

So I arrived at DTW and the queues were so long that they actually allowed us aliens to line up in the US Citizens queue. The immigration check was surprisingly thorough considering I wasn’t staying (I can get an I-94W Visa Waiver at least….). I was flying on to Canada, and the guy asked how long I would be in Canada. “None of your goddamn business, you’re not Canadian Immigration,” I so wanted to reply, but alas – I am a wimp. But he wasn’t too harsh – had a quick convo about the importance of visiting NZ over Australia, at least. The fingerprinting worked well, one finger at a time, and didn’t seem nearly as intrusive as I expected – almost sci-fi, in fact.

I had to go through Customs, pretty much pro-forma, and recheck my bag, which wasn’t too much of a hassle, then go through the infamous TSA (Totalitarian Sadists Authority) security check. I was prepared for it, wearing shoes easy to get on and off. It was a stupid process, but aside from the shoes thing, no worse than any other x-ray check thing. The agents were professional and efficient. I also kept my mouth shut, which helped. There is also no discrimination between Domestic and International flights, at least at DTW: they can all be accessed equally. BTW, getting through the x-ray at Narita was much the same sans the shoe thing, and I was definitely able to take an empty bottle through to fill up airside.

I do have to say that Canadian Immigration/Customs was one of the most pleasant I have ever been through – friendly and chatty, and the place was just about deserted.

Getting from Canada to the US was interesting, in that the US is obviously so paranoid about those Canadian terrorists that you aren’t even allowed on the plane until you have gone through Immigration. US border inspection while not in the US. The fingerprinting here took a bit more to ‘take’ – I had to rub my right finger in what looked like a small square petri dish, and was probably just as good at growing bacteria. The lady there also pressed my fingertips down, and it took a bit longer to read. Again, the US asks more questions of people coming in than any country I can think of – it’s easier to get into the People’s Democratic Republic of China.

Leaving the US is always very simple – too simple, really – there are no exit formalities at all, which is stupid. If they want to make sure people leave the country before they are supposed to, then they should at least check that they have left.

Getting back to Japan was very easy. For one thing, almost everyone on the flight was connecting to other flights, mostly going on to Beijing (same flight). And it must have been the time of day (3:00 pm) but the place was practically deserted. There were indeed lines for re-entrants, and there was literally no one else lining up – I could walk straight up to the guy and hand him my passport and gaijin card. The prints were done simultaneously, as Joe noted, but the guy (a ‘trainee’) didn’t even shift the camera, and I’m pretty sure it wasn’t looking directly at me. Both prints took immediately, and whether or not I had been conditioned by the US experience, it didn’t really seem that intrusive.

What was intrusive was when I arrived at Narita on the Keisei Express (not the Skyliner) to leave the country: got through the passport check that everyone goes through, only to have a cop come up and demand to see my passport again. While he is copying basically everything in it down in longhand on paper, which has similar notes for various other terrorist suspects – I mean gaijin – I asked him what this was about. Some lame excuse about the upcoming summit. I asked him if he checks Japanese, and he said they get checked ‘above’, presumably meaning the vehicle entry check. Dodgy in the extreme. And pointless – by the time he had finished his shift and ran my data to determine that no, I was not likely to bomb the place (especially as I am not a local farmer), I could have gone anywhere. Very annoying, and I was only able to keep my temper as he was both very polite and well armed, and I make it a rule never to argue with people with guns.

So that’s it really. The fingerprinting on either side was not a serious hassle, though the second time into the US did take a bit longer than ideal. US Immigration authorities hate everyone. The TSA checks (and I got SSSS leaving WDC) were polite and professional, though their system was insane (the guy ahead of me in the SSSS line was a 70-yr old white guy, about the least likely terrorist you could imagine). The fingerprinting on returning ‘home’ is annoying but on a more intellectual level – it’s possible giving returnees their own line could make it the fastest of the lot. Certainly the actual processing was very quick – scan passport, scan visa/re-entry 2D barcodes, and stamp. So given that, the US system needs to be able to do both fingers at the same time, and the grilling doesn’t need to be as long or rude (one Chinese guy coming in on a new student visa was getting the hard word), but the actual fingerprinting itself didn’t really bother me as much as I expected, on either side.

45 thoughts on “One foreigner’s perspective on American and Japanese immigration security procedures”

  1. Completely agree with the perceptions. The only place where I feel seriously anti-American is the immigration checkpoints at the US airports. Worse than North Korea (not a joke), worse than the former USSR if my memory does not fail me. I do not know whether it helps to fight terrorism, but it annoys many people.

  2. I’ve felt like crap at US immigration before but I usually feel worse when I see others (Japanese) being treated poorly. To say that I’ve seen people treated like dogs would be an understatement…. On the flip-side, I’ve seen foreigners get verbally abusive with Japanese staff and still get the polite treatment. I’ve also felt like New Zealand customs people are almost too friendly…. Just anecdotes, and it does not make the fingerprinting okay, but a bit of food for thought maybe. In any case, as a Canadian, it REALLY makes me angry that I see American customs belligerence going on on the soil of my own country, hundreds of miles from any border. I think this is a pattern – people from other countries usually like American a lot and have a connection with American popular culture. It is only when they start to touch the government – from customs to army – that feelings go sour.

  3. I’ve had my details checked by police in Narita Airport at least five times now. I always ask them (in Japanese) what it’s about, and never get a sensible answer. I did once ask if they only check white people, and the policeman replied completely deadpan, “No, no, of course not. Just anybody who doesn’t look Japanese.”

    It always strikes me as strange. It’s as if they find it somehow suspicious that there might be foreigners in an international airport!

  4. Roy, thanks for the post promotion.

    That Chinese guy I mentioned was basically getting almost shouted at. He came up to the immigration guy (middle-aged white guy who looked like he keeps a gun in the back of his truck) and handed over his passport, and was asked, very abruptly, as if he was a total moron and out to ruin this guy’s day, where the rest of his papers (for the visa) were. The Chinese guy put his bag on the floor to rummage through it, all the while while the immig officer was telling him in a cop-voice (the one where “sir” means “criminal scum”) to put his bag on the counter to “make it easier” (although I suspect he just wanted to keep an eye on the Chinese guy). Even if he was being helpful, he was being very harsh about it. Not a good welcome at all. Send me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, and we will make them feel like criminals and terrorists…. But yeah, as M-Bone noted, in comparison my experience was not that bad, at least the first time – as I noted, there was some actual banter there, albeit briefly.

    The stupid thing about Narita checks is that the biggest threat there by far is those disgruntled farmers, yet it’s people like me and Chris that get our details taken. I noted in his idiotic logbook that he also had a couple of Chinese/Korean names, so I was wondering if th passport check people when you get out of the station don’t flag you or something – press a button to alert the cop or something.

    And the US immigration check while actually IN Canada was unbelievable. But in a way I think it’s a good idea if all countries did this – far better to go through this before rather than after a ten-plus hour flight, I would say. Unworkable of course (can you imagine the sheer numbers needed to cover everywhere you can get to from Narita?), but still, beats lining up for half an hour when all you want to do is grab a shower and a bed – and everyone else around you needs a shower too….

    PS: is there some way of preventing the spam filter from changing its sum while you are writing a post and not telling you the new one unless you update the page?

  5. It’s stories like this that irk me to no end. We (Americans) want to be respected in the world but forget the most important rule: Those who want respect, give it. It’s just sad. It also makes me less sympathetic when foreigners here (in Beijing) whine about visa paperwork. The PSB here is far friendlier and more forgiving of ineptly filled out paperwork than the US Embassy across town. I’m all for airport security, and I also think the US has every right to protect its borders, but clearly the system is doing more harm than good to our international reputation and there are procedures which need to be rethought.

  6. From above:

    Getting from Canada to the US was interesting, in that the US is obviously so paranoid about those Canadian terrorists that you aren’t even allowed on the plane until you have gone through Immigration.

    From the news today:

    A Canadian who has pleaded guilty to charges including conspiracy to kill Americans and conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction against U.S. property will be sentenced Friday, his lawyer said.

    http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/01/17/alqaeda.guilty.plea/index.html

  7. “The stupid thing about Narita checks is that the biggest threat there by far is those disgruntled farmers, yet it’s people like me and Chris that get our details taken. I noted in his idiotic logbook that he also had a couple of Chinese/Korean names, so I was wondering if th passport check people when you get out of the station don’t flag you or something – press a button to alert the cop or something.”

    I was posted in Chiba bureau for about 4 years.I know pretty well about Narita and all.

    Those farmers and ex-student radicals are no longer the problem for the airport,the custom/immigration officers are more concerned about narcotic traffickers(usually young westerner) and illegal aliens(mostly from neighboring countries). And probably Jade and Chris were categorized as potential candidate of the former and Koreans and Chinese were for the latter.

    Narita now has a branch office of Korean immigration,which actually is nothing but a desk and two chairs, to check Japanese national’s business and tourist entry to Korea.
    Two Korean officers check your passport before you even get to the plane,which is rather convenient.But the service was just awful. I was the only guy standing in front of their desk around 9:50 am,but they let me standing there for more than 10 minuites,saying that’s the working hours.They were busy checking their cell phones until the time comes.

  8. I think the farmers etc issue is still hyped though, or else why the security getting in that Kansai doesn’t have, though it is bound to have drug smugglers and illegal aliens?

  9. The only time I ever flew into Narita was my very first landing in Japan, and I don’t even remember a single thing about it except for being tired. But I have flown many times into Kansai, and not once have I ever been taken for questioning, searched, etc. I also haven’t been back since they started fingerprinting.

    When I took the ferry from Shanghai to Osaka, customs searched every single bag of every passenger. When the guy looked in mine he said, “you got a lot of bootleg dvds, huh?” Slightly nervous, I replied “Yes, I did.” He then said, “they’re so cheap over there. I always stock up when I go to China myself,” and closed my bag. This was of course when it was actually worth getting a bootleg DVD, before bit torrent and divx/xvid came around.

  10. Is Kansai’s security as heavy as Narita? Somehow I don’t think so.
    I mean it’s built on an artificial island,Right?

    I think the mobile police has some units stationed in every international airport in the country.

    Kinda off topic,judgeing from the past posts, I’ve been thinking you were an American,Jade.

  11. “The fingerprinting worked well, one finger at a time, and didn’t seem nearly as intrusive as I expected – almost sci-fi, in fact … no worse than any other x-ray check thing. The agents were professional and efficient … no discrimination … can all be accessed equally … one of the most pleasant … friendly and chatty … always very simple – too simple, really … was very easy … Both prints took immediately, and whether or not I had been conditioned by the US experience, it didn’t really seem that intrusive … So that’s it really. The fingerprinting on either side was not a serious hassle … polite and professional … annoying but on a more intellectual level … processing was very quick … So given that, the US system needs to be able to do both fingers at the same time … but the actual fingerprinting itself didn’t really bother me as much as I expected, on either side.”

    Gee! I can’t wait and try it next time! I’ll leave my intellectual luggage home in Tokyo and enjoy the sci-fi hightech (almost) and so many friendly people all the way through. Cool ostracism, almost cute. Sounds like Tinseltown. A happy customer. So that’s it really. Really?

  12. Sarcasm aside, Lionel (I know of your blog, and have been a reasonably regular reader), I was extremely sceptical of this issue before leaving, and on this blog and others had made more than a few comments indicating what a bad idea I thought this was. I still do think it is a bad idea. However, as my post indicated, I was writing about the experience, not the intellectual aspects of it. In other words, how was I treated, how was the action, etc. I fully expected to be gritting my teeth and being barely able to refrain from making a face at the camera. However, I did indeed find the physical process rather less annoying than expected, and two out of three times it went very smoothly and quickly. I still think the new law is bull, I still think that as Hugh Cortazzi noted in (taken from one of your blog posts) that “if these measures were intended as a response to the threat of terrorism, they are odd in that all terrorist actions in Japan so far have been committed by indigenous groups who would be unaffected by these measures.” (in other words, ol’ Hugh is as suspicious as anyone). I have not become a convert to thinking people SHOULD be fingerprinted. However, as you yourself note in your blog, this hasn’t necessarily stopped people from coming. And the relative ease and sci-fi techowhizz aspects that I refer to may be part of the reason – it felt more like pressing a buzzer or (significantly?) a game controller key than having prints done.

    And it is intellectually dishonest to throw together ALL my statements that referenced anything positive about any immigration experience and then link them all with the fingerprinting issue. You even added some of my comments about Canadian immigration, which does NOT have fingerprinting. So unless your beef is against all immigration procedures everywhere, you would be better served by more judicious cherry-picking rather than your current typhoon approach.

  13. “Is Kansai’s security as heavy as Narita? Somehow I don’t think so.
    I mean it’s built on an artificial island,Right?”

    Haneda isn’t. Nor was the old Nagoya one. Of course I’m sure they’re all swarming with cops, but they don’t demand ID just to get inside, and I’ve never been asked for my passport as soon as I have just passed through another passport check. Now maybe you are right and the threat from these farmers is no longer an issue. However the current system was, I understand, set up when it was, and now that it no longer is has the system been dismantled? Or has it instead been given a new excuse to continue? After all, this War on Terrorism stuff is great for both controlling citizens and increasing government power. I mean, it’s a war that can never end. WW2 ended when the government of Japan surrendered. Nice and clear-cut. But who does the US demand a surrender from in the WOT? How will we know when it is over? (Actually it is over, and the terrorists won: they took [got the govt to take] many of our freedoms….)

    And no, I am not American. Watch my spelling….

  14. “I still think that as Hugh Cortazzi noted in (taken from one of your blog posts) that “if these measures were intended as a response to the threat of terrorism, they are odd in that all terrorist actions in Japan so far have been committed by indigenous groups who would be unaffected by these measures.”

    Actually,No.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_India_Flight_301
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_Airlines_Flight_434

    Also from wikipedia:
    2004年5月には、過去数年に新潟県にアルカーイダ系の組織の幹部が潜伏していたことが判明した。一年以上にわたり潜伏し、物資や資金の調達などをおこなっていた。偽造旅券で日本に入国し、出入国を繰り返していた。
    This guy was a French,born again Muslim type.

    Though it turned out to be as disimformation,I remember prior to the event in 9/11,(I think that was end of August) the State Department issued warning to American citizens in Japan and GoJ,that they have unconfirmed intelligence that Al-Qaeda is planning to attack American interest in Japan which were believed either the U.S embassy in Akasaka or one of the U.S Military bases.

    Now that we have U.S Army Forward 1st HQ in Zama,Kanagawa,I wouldn’t surprise someone would think that as a likable target.

    Hugh Cortazzi…..What he writes nowadays is always something written by someone before and he rarely does the fact check by himself.

  15. Personal anecdotes about KIX:
    I have had my luggage searched at customs in Kansai the last 4 times I’ve arrived back in Japan. The first time I laughed it off as a consequence of being a foreigner coming back from Thailand but it’s getting a bit ridiculous. Coming back a year ago I had to open shrink wrapped boxes for things I had received as gifts.

    When I was waiting for my sisters to arrive a police officer approached me and asked me for my passport which I didn’t have on me, but i gave him my gaijin card to look at and he told me they were watching for drug traffickers.

  16. Seth, how recently were these four visits, and where were you coming from besides Thailand? Like I said above, I’ve never been searched at KIX, and that includes after the trip I took to Bangkok last summer.

  17. I note that Philippine Airlines Flight 434 was not actually IN Japan.
    Actually I also note the Wiki-Japan article on Al Qaida has not one source….

    The one time I got a thorough search in a different room (not strip thank god) was coming back from Thailand, but that was largely my GF’s fault – she was visibly panicky and in a rush to get through customs, nor had we filled out a customs form (back then it was only needed for certain countries). The reason she was in a rush is that we were late for our reserved Haruka seats (back when they were all reserved), but it got our luggage given a very fine going over, and the insides of my boots too. Luckily they never found the 50kg of commercial-grade meth and coke I had smuggled inside my left nostril, but never mind. What was interesting is that even when we showed the tickets for the train with a departure time that was (by then) just passed, and they rang JR to check if we could take a later train, the check still proceeded methodically.

    Oh, and if you DO ever want to smuggle something into Japan, and you’re a white guy, travel with a Japanese girl and get her to carry it. The customs people will ignore her and focus on you, leaving her safe to cert in half the GNP of Columbia….

  18. Philippine Air Flight 434:Japanese wiki says
    東京まで2時間前であった午前11時43分、沖縄の南大東島附近上空31000フィートを巡航中、突如客室内の座席下に仕掛けられていた爆弾が炸裂

    So it was IN Japanese air space,Jade.

    From Japan Times.”Al Qaeda Operative hide out in Niigata,May 20 2004″.
    http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20040520a3.html

    One thing I can’t agree with the logic of Cortazzi is he is missing the point of “Deterrence”. I mean isn’t that the reason why UK is nuclear armed even though
    no country had ever nuked her? I think I’ve read him critizing Japanese pacifism and sentimentalism over nuclear weapon during Grennham Common protest. Or that was the logic he was using. Since my memory is fading,I could have been mistaken with somebody else.But Cortazzi has been vocal critic on Japanese leftist/liberals for long time. I can understand human right activist like Debito Ardou using the logic,but not Cortazzi.

  19. Yes, security at KIX has been sweet, in my experience. I’ve been in at least one situation where I probably *should have* been questioned a little bit more, but I was let through fairly easily. And that was in December 2001.

    Aside from one incident with a Chinese volleyball team, I also found that it was an advantage to be a foreign citizen arriving at KIX, as there were fewer foreign arrivals than in Tokyo and I was processed faster than many of the Japanese travellers. This may have changed since the fingerprinting ballyhoo.

  20. “So it was IN Japanese air space,Jade.”

    Now that’s getting picky. Are countries now going to instigate immigration procedures to screen out terrorists who might fly over their airspace? (I’m sure the US Department of Homeland Security would be keen…)

    Thanks for the JT link. You’ll understand I was sceptical of such claims after the Minister of Justice’s wild remarks (and in fact in the face of wild remarks made by pretty much every member of the senior US administration).

    Deterrence is fine – but the question has always been, is this the best way to do it? Especially when fighting a shapeless enemy that favours suicide bombing, it’s not likely that someone about to fly a plane into the Tokyo Met HQ in Shinjuku would actually have prints on file. This is a common concern.

    Bryce – can you tell us what you were doing that was so naughty?

  21. “Are countries now going to instigate immigration procedures to screen out terrorists who might fly over their airspace? ”

    I’d assume so, especially in this case the very plane was not only in Japanese air space but flying to Japan and the only guy whose being killed was a Japanese citizen…

    “Deterrence is fine – but the question has always been, is this the best way to do it?”

    Correct.It probably won’t change anything.It is just another symbolic gesture to Washington that we are doing something in the war on terror.Just another legacy of Koizumi-Abe era.
    But Jade,I want you to promise me to keep this as a secret, that I’m actually against gaijin finger printing,because I have a feeling this might actually make some of the disgruntled members of the gaijin ghetto to leave this country for their retirement in Bangkok.

  22. BTW,for got to put this.From J-Wiki Phillipine 434 bombing.

    爆弾は腕時計を使った時限爆弾であり、爆発はテロリストによって引き起こされたものに間違いなかった。犯行を認める電話がAP通信マニラ支局にあった。背景はすぐには判明しなかったが、フィリピン マニラにあった反政府イスラム教徒テロリストグループのアジトから、1995年1月6日に「ボジンカ計画」とよばれるテロ計画が発見されたため、発覚した。また434便の事件の首謀者も1ヵ月後にパキスタンで逮捕された。

    この計画は成田、ソウル、台北、香港、バンコク、シンガポールから11 機のアメリカ合衆国の航空会社の旅客機を爆破するというものであった。434便に仕掛けられた爆弾は身体検査を潜り抜けられるかという予行演習であり、この計画で使用する予定の爆弾の10分の1の威力であったという。

  23. “I want you to promise me to keep this as a secret, that I’m actually against gaijin finger printing,because I have a feeling this might actually make some of the disgruntled members of the gaijin ghetto to leave this country for their retirement in Bangkok.”

    Over on a certain human rights site, some commentators have been comparing recent developments in Japan to (forget the southern US in the 1950s) Apartheid era South Africa. I certainly feel a bit alienated by this kind of hyperbole and I can’t help but think that the “gaijin” community is more or less divided over fingerprinting and the like into a very small, very hardcore group, and a massive, apathetic majority (who may be apathetic because they do not feel the looming specter of Japanese racism breathing down their necks as keenly as do others).

    Fingerprinting has been described as the single biggest, most enraging development “ever” for the gaijin community in Japan (not counting Zainichi) but when you look at the online petition, it seems like it has stagnated at around 2700 for weeks now. Just browsing through it makes me believe that about 700 of the signatories are Japanese (encouraging) and another 700 or so “Anonymous” (which cannot, by any measure, be accepted as credible; now excuse me while I submit a 1,000,000 anonymous signature petition to my boss demanding a pay raise for me) which leaves about 1300 or so. At least 300 or so of those people seem to be self-identifying as not being in Japan (being a potential tourist at some point, etc.) or not having been to Japan at all. That leaves the biggest issue “ever” for the resident foreigner community not even raising enough moxy to significantly clear 1000 signatures from the group on an online petition despite it being presented in four languages.

    I, for one, don’t like fingerprinting. What I like even less, however, is how so much of the online discussion (which is likely what convinced Ace that some are ready to run for the hills) consists of contextless anecdotes. Japan is thinking about making long-term visas partly conditional on language skill? Canada assigns points for English AND French. Anecdotal evidence is also used to support the idea that the Japanese police are getting increasingly racist and strongarm. A poor Polish visitor to Canada was tasered to death at an airport a few months back with no warning. More racism in Japan? A Filipino woman was beaten to death on the street in Calgary. Beaten so savagely that her relatives had to identify her by her hands and feet. However, it does not seem like I, nor anyone else, is ready to write Canada off as a racist sinkhole. Japan is an easy target, I think, especially for people who are comparing it to an overly rosy vision of “back home”. Maybe that crew should bugger off to Thailand.

  24. I began doing series of my rearch for my assignement for muslim community in Japan in 1996. Mostly bacause I was interested in the fate of Tartar immigrants coming to Japan from Harbin in the 30’s. That took me to the estate of foremer mosque site in Yoyogi,at the time was still seeking for funding from various islamic nations.
    Now that we can see magnificent mosque standing built by the Turks,but at that point of my research all the muslim community in eastern Tokyo has to go to Arab Islam Academy’s estate in Moto-Azabu,owned by the embassy of Saudi Arabia.
    I was there one day with two Tokyo-born Tartars in their 50’s and walked into the Academy’s backyard where temporary prayers quater had been set.(The Academy was built on the former residence of pre-war diet member and best seller writer Tsurumi Yusuke,Father of post-war philospoher Syunsuke.The house was HUGE.)
    There were lots of muslims coming from all over the world,Pakistanis,Bangladeshis,Nigerians,Chinese,Burma’s ethnich minority the Rohingyas,Lebanese,even converted Japanese were there.

    As I was interviewing lots of muslims from various ethnicity,I’ve noticed a man in a trench coat watching around and taking memos. My first instinct was he must be a media guy just like I am coming here for the assignment. My instinct was wrong. I reached to him and told him who I was and he gave me his name card. It saids “XXX Metropolitan Police Department,Public Security,unit 2″.

    I asked him”why do you need to check these people”,and answer was he is just here observing things and told me there are many illegal aliens among the prayers here. Not that I was against with that,but I still thought his presence was a sign of xenophobism typical among the J-cops. He also said if there are any useful info,we can perhaps exchange with each other.Couldn’t believe what I’ve heard so,I just told him goodbye and left without giving my own card in return of his.

    Couple years later,I was drinking with my boss who was ex-New York,Ex-London,Ex-Seoul bureau chief. He was like super correspondent and our conversation switched to the recently deceased reporter from our office who died by a car accident in Pakistan while researching political islam there.
    So I told him about my brief encounter with public security man at the Saudi estate couple years ago. He asked me “Did you do any follow-up on this?” and I said “No”.
    He then told me,the head master of the Arab-Islam Academy was listed as Persona Non Grata by MoFA and did not permited to re-entry to Japan after 9/11,because he was a teacher at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah in the 70’s teaching Quran and other religious ideas.

    One of his student there was Osama bin Laden.

  25. It still takes a few more posts to say what I want in the issue.Send you more tonight.

  26. You should arrange with Roy to do a proper post on this, Aceface. It looks interesting and detailed.

  27. While I think it is rather overreactive to have someone not allowing to re-enter the country,just because his or her life had crossed with that of bin Laden at some point.(especially in this head master’s case,bin Laden was just one of the student in the class before he left for Afghanistan to fight the Soviet troops) I would imagine somewhere in the National Police Agency got freaked out about imaging possible Al Qaeda hotbed in of all places,Japan.

    I had this experience in 1999 when I was flying back to Japan from Kuala Lumpur.
    I was flying on Malaysia Airlines and two muslim Singaporeans were sitting next to me. One of them was a Chinese taxi driver and other was a Malay working as a garbage man. The Chinese man was in his 60’s and told me he was adopted to Malay family when Japanese were occupying Singapore,and grew up as a muslim.
    He told me that happened pretty often at the time.

    Anyway they were on vacation thinking about to help starting new mosque in Saitama and other places as volunteers. That means there is some sort of global network of mutual assistance among muslims connecting various part of Asia and Japan.

    While that itself is not a bad thing,but after 911 and we start hearing about names like Jemaah Islamiyah,I start to think about that from different perspectives,whether authority have any track of these ongoings. Because that was exactly what AlQaeda operative in Niigata was thinking about doing,making operative cells and establishing logistics inside of the country.

    In many country I think the most likely conventional measures for counter terrorisms are:
    1)gain more info if there’s any fishy groups
    2)Start tapping telecommunication of the suspicious individual or groups.
    3)Start infiltrating within the groups.

    But existing Japanese laws has high hurdle on tapping telecommunication on suspects and sting operation or undercover investigation is illegal. That means 2) and 3) are unlikely. And Anti-Subversive Activities Act was not exercised even in the case of Sarin gas attack on Tokyo subway in 1995.1) is possible,but considering what I saw in Saudi’s Academy in Moto-Azabu,I don’t think authority is doing a good job here. So fighting terrorism inside of the country just have too many restrictions that work negatively for the authority.

    With that in my mind,it was not a big surprise to me that authority chose taking finger prints at immigration as the method of contingency management.

    Like Jade had posted, this is not exactly the best way to fight shapeless threat and definitely not good from human rights perspective for this is violating rights of countless innocent foreigners.
    But I think these measures won’t change until Japanese public allow the government to grant more legal power to security community to fight the terrorism,almost as much as the global standard.

  28. “And Anti-Subversive Activities Act was not exercised even in the case of Sarin gas attack on Tokyo subway in 1995”

    But what about the Aum Surveillance Act?

  29. Problem with that act is you can only exerise AFTER the group had commited mass murder….
    無差別大量殺人行為を行った団体の規制に関する法律:
    団体の活動として役職員(代表者、主幹者その他いかなる名称であるかを問わず当該団体の事務に従事する者をいう。)又は構成員が無差別大量殺人行為を行った場合に、その団体につき、その活動状況を明らかにし又は当該行為の再発を防止するために必要な規制措置を定め、もって国民の生活の平穏を含む公共の安全の確保に寄与することを目的とする。1999年(平成11年)12月7日に公布され、同月27日に施行された。

    I think this doesn’t contradicts with finger printing measure.It can’t prevent terrorism.But cops can use fingerprint to track down the suspect for investigation.
    They know that the public won’t condemn cops for not preventing that to happen like 911 committee in the states did to the CIA and FBI. This is all about I’m-doing-what-I’m-supposed-to-be-doing-not-any-more-any-less attitude.Typical of the J-bureaucracy.

  30. So it’s deterrence? Not that I am too fussed about the fingerprint law, but, doesn’t that feed into the charge by gaijin arriving in Japan that the authorities are treating them like potential criminals, all the more so because the fingerprint law would not have helped the police one iota in the Aum case (they were, after all, Japanese).

  31. Bryce.
    Haven’t you never seen that rediculous slogan at immigration gate in Narita,saying
    “In Japan,Please follow the rules”? Now it’s gone,but they are as insensitive as putting those slogans until mid 90’s.

    “Deterrence” is the logic used by security community both in Japan and the U.S.
    Not exactly mine.My series of long posts are simply presenting counterargument to terrorism in Japan was and will be conducted by Japanese only.

    Anyway fingerprinting did not have any negative effect on Visit Japan campaign. Yokoso Japan,inspite of skepticism from pundits like Alex Kerr,had met with biggest- success-ever,over 9million foreigners had entered the country last year.

    I’d assume all those Aussie snow boarders flocking in Hokkaido certainly did not enjoyed getting their finger printed.But nonetheless they showed up in the record breaking number. The surronding area of Niseko ski resort has shown highest rise of real estate price in the country in 2007,because of heavy Aussie investment.That didn’t happen to finger-print free Bali in 2005….

  32. ““Deterrence” is the logic used by security community both in Japan and the U.S,but not exactly mine.”

    I just looked into my previous post and it seemed I posted something that contradict with the statement above as

    “One thing I can’t agree with the logic of Cortazzi is he is missing the point of “Deterrence”. I mean isn’t that the reason why UK is nuclear armed even though
    no country had ever nuked her? ”

    My intention was to point out that Cortazzi(and others) are intentionally overlooking the counter terrorism side of fingerprinting argument and focusing onto xenophobism side alone.
    I also was not very pleased with the fact that nearly everyone in English blogsphere saying “there were no acts nor attempts of terrorist activities conducted by foreign nationals in Japan” which I think coming from a single source.
    But,wait, I still have one more story to tell.

    “all the more so because the fingerprint law would not have helped the police one iota in the Aum case (they were, after all, Japanese).”

    Can I hold onto this microphone just a bit more longer? Thank you.

    This happened in November of 1996 in the city of Tokorozawa,Saitama where I use to live with my family before I got my job.

    埼玉県警所沢署などは26日、特別手配中の菊地直子容疑者らオウム真理教元信者四人が所沢市など埼玉県西部に潜伏している可能性があるとみて所沢、狭山、川越、東入間、新座の五署管内で一斉捜索を実施した。
     捜索にはヘリコプターや警察犬も動員し、機動隊や機動捜査隊の応援を加え捜査員約五百人が参加。ゲームセンターやパチンコ店など立ち回る可能性がある店舗のパトロールのほか、橋の下や公園、神社、狭山湖周辺など野宿できそうな場所では、たき火の跡がないかどうかなど詳しく調べたが、この日は発見できなかった。逮捕した八木沢善次容疑者らが潜伏していた所沢市内のアパートで見つかった菊地容疑者のものとみられる衣類のにおいで、警察犬に追わせたりした。
     所沢署管内では11月になってから、八木沢容疑者ら特別手配の元信者三人が出頭するなどして相次いで逮捕された。他の手配者も同じアパートで生活していた形跡があり、24四日に逮捕された松下悟史容疑者はアパートの摘発後、市内の公園などで野宿していた。
     埼玉県警幹部は「長期の逃亡で手配犯は精神的にも肉体的にも限界に来ているはず。所沢近辺に潜伏していれば、今回の捜索は出頭を促す効果がある」と話している。

    Saitama pref Police had searched all over the city looking for runaway three operatives belong to the doomsday cult group,Aum Supreme Truth and raided their safe house in one of the apartment in the city.

    A month later after the police raid,my mother called me up in my cell telling me an officer from Metropolitan Police Department gave a call to me and wanted to return the call ASAP. So I first called up Kisha club in MPD and asked my colleague whether the number the officer had left to my mom was real. And that was real,so I called him up.

    The officer introduced himself as he is a member of the special unit pursuing Aum Supreme Truth operatives and his team find a floppy disc(those were the days)left in the hideout in Tokorozawa.Inside of the floppy disc,there was a list of people including me,with my address and phone number.

    The officer asked in a friendly,”Don’t you worry a thing, Kid. I’m on your side, Now talk to me everything”tone.
    “Aceface-san,are you a member of AST?”

    “No.”

    “Do you happened to know a person with the name Kikuchi Naoko?”

    “No.”

    “Were you ever associate with any legal nor illegal activities conducted by AST?”

    “No!”

    Then I told him who I am now and where I work for. There was a silent pause for a few seconds and then he starts to talk again this time in a bit bureaucratic manner.
    “We’ll keep in touch,Thank you for your cooperation”.

    I haven’t got a single call from him since after. The three AST operatives are still on the run.

    So,yeah. I have my own reason to think fingerprinting as “deterrance” may only work remotely to stop future terrorism in Japan….

  33. US Immigration authorities hate everyone.

    They always give me trouble too as an American who doesn’t live in America. I can hear the ‘Why would someone ever leave this perfect land – he must be a spy/terrorist, we’d better be extra rude to him’ tone in their voice. Frankly I hate the process too and I’m not even fingerprinted.

  34. I agree with M-Bone that some of the reactions to Japan’s introduction of fingerprinting fail to take into account what has happened in other countries. However, aside from the objections I have in principle to adding my fingerprints to a database which can be accessed by countries with which I have no connection or relation, there are some idiosyncrasies in the way Japan has introduced the system which call into question some of the justifications which have been offered.

    Why fingerprint permanent residents but not special permanent residents? The answer would seem to be that the latter group has tangible political clout and would have kicked up merry hell. If Japan views North Korea as a threat then fingerprinting special permanent residents would seem also to be appropriate. Aceface, when people point to the fact that most terrorism has been originated domestically, the point isn’t to underplay the threat of self-proclaimed Islamic terrorists but instead to wonder what comparable measures Japan is introducing to address terrorist threats which are arguably more likely if indeed terrorism is the real target.

    I think if you have jumped through enough hoops to get permanent residence then you ought to be exempt from a demand for fingerprints at port of entry. The exemption should also apply to residents on a work visa but I can understand why Japan might wish to return to its old policy of requiring fingerprints before you can get such a visa because this seems to be becoming a common practice elsewhere. I don’t like that policy but if we are holding Japan to global standards then it wouldn’t be out of line these days. However, once you’ve granted someone a visa, why would you need to keep taking their fingerprints?

    These idiosyncrasies partly result from the absence of a proper debate in Japan about what measures are necessary for immigration control and what are necessary as anti-terrorist measures. While Hatoyama spoke at the FCCJ about his friend’s friend’s Al Qaeda connection, a good part of the press coverage of the new fingerprinting policy emphasized how effective it would be in controlling the alleged foreign crime wave. The average policeman on the street is influenced by this kind of talk and its difficult not to see a link with an increase, admittedly only anecdotal, in people being stopped for “walking while gaijin” over the last few months.

    Personally, I don’t expect the new fingerprinting policy will decease the number of visitors to Japan no matter how much some white residents here would like the country to suffer repercussions. The cheap dollar and the bargains on offer in the US that created were attractive enough for visitors to overcome their reservations about US immigration. Japan is still at an early stage in attracting visitors and the bulk still come from Asia. There have been few complaints in China, Taiwan and Korea about the new policy and, as Aceface said, Australians still find Niseko attractive. Wealthy Russians are also still a small group but coming in greater numbers. The US saw on impact on business travellers because many visas were denied and the delays were intolerable to regular visitors. Neither are major issues in Japan: if business trips do decline then it will have more to do with the fall-out from the sub-prime losses and the perceived opportunities here.

  35. “However, once you’ve granted someone a visa, why would you need to keep taking their fingerprints?”

    This is pretty much my reason for opposing the fingerprinting as well. If it were just visitors it would be easier to see the logic.

    “The average policeman on the street is influenced by this kind of talk and its difficult not to see a link with an increase, admittedly only anecdotal, in people being stopped for “walking while gaijin” over the last few months.”

    While there is no way to determine this, I wonder if there really has been an increase? Perhaps the impression of an increase is due to the rise in individuals complaining on certain internet forums (which may be due to people being drawn there by the fingerprints).

    A certain “human rights” page has seen an explosion in the number of blog comments over the past few months (seems mostly to be the same dozen or so regulars, some of whom compare Japan to Myanmar or North Korea on human rights). This is, of course, the same site that has described the number of “no foreigners” signs in Japan as increasing for years now while only posting a handful of new pictures (some of which are “unconfirmed” and could literally have been made by anyone with a printer, laminating machine, a glass door anywhere in the world, and a bone to pick).

    I’ve started to notice a decline in foreign crime reportage in the print media (when compared with 2005-2006) but, of course, this viewpoint is far from scientific. A search of Amazon Japan, however, reveals only a single pop “Gaikokujin Hanzai” title in 2007 (a Chuokoron Shinsha Shinsho). This book is not scaremongering. It is actually based on the results of a survey of 2000 foreigners serving time in Japan about what drove them to crime, why they thought that they could get away with it, etc. Fascinating reading.

  36. “If it were just visitors it would be easier to see the logic.”

    I actually asked, when I got my re-entry permit. The answer was nothing whatsoever to do with terrorism. I was told that this is to prevent people entering on fake or stolen passports. Re-entering, as much as anything. Of course if they don’t have your prints on file in the first place, then they can’t compare, but I presume they print people who are deported, and can compare those to make sure that you are really *are* who you say. Although I wonder if biometric passport holders couldn’t be exempt, due to the inability (???) to fiddle with that. So it’s not about terrorism at all – that’s just the publicity. It’s all about controlling (illegal) immigrants.

    That “Gaikokujin Hanzai” book does sound interesting – must keep an eye out next time I hit a Book Off….

  37. And yeah, that Certain Human Rights site pisses me off. Anecdoted mixed with paranoia and served up on a plate of righteous indignation….

  38. Jade OC wrote: “So it’s not about terrorism at all – that’s just the publicity. It’s all about controlling (illegal) immigrants.”

    That’s also my impression but a lot of the domestic-oriented publicity made precisely that point. It’s a legitimate target but whether the form of fingerprinting which has been introduced is the best measure to address that issue is unclear to me.

    While agreeing again with M-Bone about the unrepresentative nature of internet forum testimony, I think it is likely that, at least in parts of Tokyo, police have been stopping foreigners more frequently. I don’t believe it is a specific policy, however. News reports have indicated that “stop and search” has increased for certain types of Japanese with geeky otaku particularly in the headlines. This is surely just police responding to pressure to increase their arrest and conviction rates and the current interest will probably die down soon enough. In Britain, police also have some shooting-fish-in-a-barrel arrests they can make when they need to up the numbers: busting a pub known to tolerate underage drinkers or ambushing speeding drivers on well-known stretches of road. The irritating thing is that police believe that foreigners are a legitimate target during such campaigns and the press coverage surely influences this attitude. Admittedly, “we” don’t do ourselves many favours here. Foreigners often complain about being stopped while cycling but the reason is that many were ignorant of the need to transfer registration of their bikes which made them an easy catch when they couldn’t prove ownership. I can only hope that cycling foreigners are aware of the new regulations which make it illegal to ride while using a keitai or listening to earphones etc. These are the laws of the land and we should respect them.

    The reason for police to stop someone foreign-looking who is on foot is the hope that they can catch an illegal or expired visa or, if the person allows them to search, perhaps some illegal substances. It’s not a very efficient way to pursue either goal. A few targeted raids on hostess clubs, love hotel cleaning staff and factories would surely yield a higher haul. Factories, with a few exceptions still remain largely untouched. Hostess clubs get more frequent visits and the results have been tangible except in the case of high profile raids which are more for publicity purposes: the 160 strong team who went through Kinshicho one evening last month uncovered only four visa violators among the twenty people they detained.

  39. Anyone who uses a keitai or listens to an iPod on a bike is a menace and should be stopped. I can’t believe there isn’t already a general law about operating a vehicle safely that the J-cops could use to ping them.

    “I was told that this is to prevent people entering on fake or stolen passports.”
    “That’s also my impression but a lot of the domestic-oriented publicity made precisely that point.”

    So why then didn’t the publicity directed outwards make that point? Instead, the promotional video in English sounded like a Giuliani commercial (9/11 bad, safety good). Why not just say, “we are taking biometric data to prevent passport fraud”? I’m not sure, by the way, what the connection between taking biometric data and the prevention of passport fraud is.

    I’m still fairly convinced this policy is designed more to please the U.S. than for any practical terror/immigration fraud/crimefighting application.

  40. There is certainly a good chance that gaijin stopping by police has increased around Tokyo. Mulboyne offers some excellent advice for bikers. There is a covered shopping arcade near my Japan home with clear no riding bikes signs on every entrance. Of course, this is roundly ignored by chugakusei and the elderly who don’t seem to give a rat’s a$$. I’ve seen foreigners TEARING through the area, however. Japanese, in my experience, usually ride bikes like they are sitting in a recliner but I’ve seen more than one foreigner doing a Lance Armstrong impression and actually coming close to hitting people in this zone. Blatantly breaking the rules in a manner that the locals do not is, of course, a very good way to attract attention.

    “Admittedly, “we” don’t do ourselves many favours here.”

    Indeed. The content of some net posts basically says – we can’t trust J-police, they are racist, don’t cooperate. This type of attitude has caused some people who have had run-ins with the cops to push officers, etc. (and brag about it on the net lately). This is EXACTLY the way to ensure that they stop more foreigners and to convince the authorities that foreigners are untrustworthy.

    I’m no fan of the “if you don’t like it go the %#$@ home” argument that gets thrown around from time to time, but I would certainly say that if you have no plans of cooperating with the police, its probably time to start thinking about buying a ticket.

  41. Mulboyne said:
    “The average policeman on the street is influenced by this kind of talk and its difficult not to see a link with an increase, admittedly only anecdotal, in people being stopped for “walking while gaijin” over the last few months.”

    I don’t think cops were effected by Hatoyama. This was already an official policy for five years now.
    From Ministry of Justice HP
    http://www.moj.go.jp/PRESS/031017-1.html.

  42. Anecdotally, there was an interesting discussion a while back on another forum (I think) about this Riding While Gaijin thing, and two points tended to emerge. One is that it’s a Tokyo thing (and anecdotally, I concur – I’ve been stopped twice, both times in Tokyo, and despite having lived for far far longer outside of Tokyo [in fact the first time I was living near Kamakura, and had cycled up to Tokyo Station as I was out of my mind, and was stopped on the way back on the Tokyo side of the border]), and the other was that it’s people on those so-called mama-chari shopping bikes that get stopped: the logic being, perhaps, that why is this great big white guy tooling around on something so dumb? Musta nicked it. Again, purely anecdotally, that’s also my experience: since getting a mountain bike I have never been stopped. I have yet to try and ride a mountain bike in Tokyo, however.

    Also, it’s not just gaijin that get stopped: since mama-chari are so easy to nick around stations, many businessmen grab one after a night drinking. So there may be this idea that looking for people who look ‘out of place’ on one is a good way to catch a thief. This includes abandoned bikes as well. In fact the second time I was stopped, I was riding a bike with a very flat rear tyre (don’t try off-roading in the Tama hills on a mama-chari, folks) and it could easily have been stolen/abandoned. Incidentally, neither time I was stopped was the bike mine, but I was legitimately using it.

    Talking of laws and bikes, the one that annoys me slightly is the recently-emphasized one about no drunk cycling.

    Bryce: “So why then didn’t the publicity directed outwards make that point?”
    While I certainly agree that kissing US arse was a prime reason, I think the GOJ figured that sugar-coating this pill with the excuse of “war on terrorism” would play best overseas. After all, they’ve seen how, for example, many Americans have just blindly gone along with the Homeland Security department’s regulations.

    M-Bone: Yes, I know it’s not the infamous one, but it sounds actually researched and accurate.

  43. “I’m not sure, by the way, what the connection between taking biometric data and the prevention of passport fraud is.”

    Those who use fake passports are usually the people with somekind of criminal record during their past stay in Japan and cannot re-enter the country without using fake passports. And their fingerprints are already taken at the time of their arrest in Japan.

    Immigration officials are basically coming from two bureaucracy, MoJ and MoFA.
    While the immigration agency itself is the asset of MoJ,issuing visas at the embassy are under the jurisdiction of MoFA. ANd there is potential tention with in the agency between these two fractions. Recently,MoFA has been very keen to open wider gates to neighboring country like banning tourist-visas to South Koreans, and Taiwanese or relaxation of the tourist visas to Chinese and South East Asians in relation with various FTA agreements with ASEAN countries.
    Parallel to this,the internal pressure to deal with rise of foreign crimes and illegal aliens got larger and it was MoJ,not MoFA who issues visas to potential trouble makers, gets all the criticism. Understandably,MoJ is not very amused with the situation.
    And there comes 911. MoFA now gets external pressure to insert more draconian conterterrorism measure at the immigration from the United States. So both fractions now have something they can agree on.

    “Why fingerprint permanent residents but not special permanent residents? The answer would seem to be that the latter group has tangible political clout and would have kicked up merry hell. If Japan views North Korea as a threat then fingerprinting special permanent residents would seem also to be appropriate.”

    Zainichi Koreans do have political leverage over Japanese society and politics as Mulboyne says here that other permanent residents don’t,but looking back in the history, we can find something similar situation 50 years ago.

    Back then,there were numbers of Korean coming back and forth between two nations. And some smuggled in to Japan and illegaly acquired Koseki from Japanese citizens. And the MoJ was in urgent need to halt these identity theft.
    North Korea was using this situation to infiltrate operatives inside of South or tried to gain leadershipl of Korean organization in Japan. And South Korean strongman ath the time.Synman Rhee had demanded Tokyo to have stricter border control and screening of Pyongyang operatives.
    Getting pressure from both Seoul and Washington.MoFA was very willing to adopt finger printing scheme. So there was mixture of Gai-atsu,Nai-atsu element in installing fingerprinting over Korean population in Japan. Ofcourse,now that the post-colonialistic element had diminished from Korea-Japan relation and Seoul brought up this issue as “human-right abuse” from the late 80’s.
    ANd now,for both MoJ and MoFA,the need of continuing fingerprinting had dissapeared thus the scheme was abandoned.

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