Prints…
Apparently all foreigners in Japan *might* be terrorists so from the 20th of November every foreigner entering into Japan will have to be fingerprinted and photographed...this is not just visitors to the country but even those who live here and have visas (In fact even people with permanent residency here will need to do the same thing…people who have lived here for years and years and years)….The thing that gets me is that there has never been an act of terrorism in Japan that wasn`t done by Japanese people…yet this is their excuse for demanding these details….although at the end of video I watched they also mentioned it is to keep out `Foreign criminals` and people who overstay their visa…….Apparently the fingerprints and photos are also able to be exchanged with other governments.
Since I am traveling back to Australia in December on my way back in January I will need to do this for the first time. Do you have any idea how long that will take??? Plus you have to do it EVERY time!!! I can just see myself after a nine hour flight arriving back in Tokyo, just wanting to get back to my apartment to find instead of an hour waiting in line I will need to wait five.
It is times like this I really hate Japan…..We are already forced to carry alien registration identification cards on us at all times (Which police or government officials can demand to see at any time…without reason) and now we have to be subjected to this……Perhaps this really is needed to stomp out terrorism but I do not beleive this to be the case…
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You already need to do this to get into the USA and it didnt take any longer than normal when I went through there. But yeah I agree that its unfair that its only foreigners and that people who have lived in Japan for a long time are still called foreigners. (my housemate in Australia is Japanese, he was born in Japan and so were his parents but his grandparents were born in Korea so he has to have a Korean passport even though he has never been there and doesnt speak Korean! he has a residents visa only) He was very funny when he moved in he said “I’m Japanese” and then a few days latter he came to us to apolagise because actually he is Korean…we were like you dont need to aplolagise it wasnt a lie and it doesnt matter! So polite. My sister thinks he is similar to a vampire (like the ones in Buffy) who cant come in unless you invite them. He wont use anything in our house without asking 1st, but its his house too.
I got sick of that kind of racisim when I lived in Japan. Even some of my Japanese friends were racist towards Chinese or Koreans….Coming from multi cultural Melbourne it was hard to understand.
I can imagine why that would piss you off, I know it would piss me off too. It just seems to pointless.
That sucks! Just what you need at the end of a long flight.
There is lots of stuff I miss about living in Japan, but the way the government seems to be suspicious of all foreigners isn’t one of them!
Ugh - Getting off the plane in Tokyo after an overnight flight from Bangkok was TERRIBLE. Just thinking about it makes me feel tired and gross ;o)
I should send you a link - my friend in Japan send us a link to a this anti-gaijin site where they were complaining that terrorism is still terrorism even if people aren’t killed or hurt, with pics showing all these people who held a Halloween party on a train. They were complaining about the foreign terrorists, yet the majority of ppl in the pics were Japanese!! And yes, our friend made it into one of the pics ;o)
I heard something about pre-registering, like if you do the finger printing and photo on your way out of Japan then you don’t have to do it on the way in. Not sure of the details but it’s worth looking in to, since there is always time to kill at Narita on the way out!
Hayley=Everyone has to do it in the US right?? Not just visitors or foreigners. I really hope it doesn`t make the whole thing take a lot longer than it should. I hate lines. LOuckily your friend wouldn`t have to have his fingerprints taken, even though he has a korean passport he is considered Japanese by this standard (I think?! I am not sure if it only applies to Koreans who moved to Japan to escape something or not)
Amanda- I can see myself getting very fed up on the day I fly back into Japan! Luckily it isn`t a night flight back to Tokyo because I can not sleep on planes (Will leave in the morning arrive about 6pm here)
Suzy: The japanese attitude towards foreigners is not something I would miss if I left either! Most people are indifferent to the face I am foreign but there are still some that treat me completely different.
Enny: hehe…I heard about that halloween party! I read a blog where someone went….I really want to check it out. It sounds fun to hijack the yamanote line!!! There were Japanese people involved too so it is not like other Japanese people can complain that it was the `Foreigners!`
Jess: I doubt you can pre-register but i will look into it. Once my fingerprints are taken the first time I will still need to do it everytime I come back into the country I think! I will definitely find out if I can do something on my way out to make the process coming back in a little smoother!