Fingerprinting and Photographs

Last year and this year I traveled to Japan and I entered at Nagoya and Kansai. During immigration control I was asked a question, when passing customs the custom officials did not tell me to open my suitcase. Maybe I got even faster into the country than some Japanese people. In my disembarcation card and my embarcation card I wrote the kanji name I had used while I was living in Japan and once I was asked about it when leaving Japan. Anyway, immigration procedures did not take much time and I smoothly entered the country.

Does fingerprinting and photographing foreigners slow down immigration significantly? Is the interview very long or does the immigration officer ask the destination (e. g. Ishigaki Island) only? What are your experiences at Nagoya or Kansai?

OkinawaDolphin,

Fingerprinting & photographing doesn't start until 20 November, so no one can say for sure yet. The information available so far suggests that all non-Japanese will have to stand in the queue for non-Japanese even if they have a re-entry permit. Even if the fingerprinting/photo procedure itself is fairly quick, regular travellers will know how much quicker using the Japanese/re-entry permit queues is compared with the non-Japanese queues.
I have also heard that there will be a registration facility allowing re-entry permit holders to fast-track through the system on subsequent re-entries, but that this only applies to Narita - not Kansai or Chubu.

Will there be special lines for people with biometric passports? My passport has my photo and other information on it that can be read by just walking through a gate. I know the US has special lines for these passports.

The customs officers already scan the passports (I was there 2 weks ago) so the fingerprinting and photos are definitely for Japan's own records, regardless of what type of passports we have.
I did find everytime that the lines in Japan go way faster that in my own country where even the citizens are asked all sorts of questions, like:"why did you go to....if you don't speak the language and don't know anyone there?" that customs in other countries never even ask.

If you plan to visit Japan after November 20th, make sure your name or someone else like your's is not on the faulty U.S. list of known or suspected terrorists.
From Nov. 20, 2007, Japan will put in place biometric checks at all international airports. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Amnesty International have hinted that because Japan does not have their own list of foreign terrorists, they will likely use the U.S. list. This is the same list that was used by the U.S. to send Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen, to Syria for torture while in transit in New York�fs JFK airport when returning home from a vacation. Thirteen months after his abduction, he was return to Canada. Even though Prime Minister Stephen Harper has apologized on behalf of the government of Canada to Maher Arar and have offered him a compensation package of 11.5 million dollars, the Bush administration has failed to acknowledge any wrong doing and continue to keep Maher on the terrorist watch list. If Japan is using the same list, what's going to happen if there is some misunderstanding at the airport? Japanese authorities are notriously lacking in English speaking skills, nor are they well know for respecting the human rights of non-Japanese who have been hauled off into detention.

Japan Times
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20071108f1.html

Amnesty Intl Tokyo Symposium Oct 27 on Immigration�fs new fingerprinting etc. regulations
http://www.debito.org/index.php/?p=585

Japan violates foreigners' human rights: Amnesty Int'l (Kyodo News International, Inc.)
http://www.japantoday.com/jp/news/216028

Gaijin Hanzai
http://www.japanfocus.org/products/details/2386

Why is this such a big deal? My wife (Japanese) has been photographed and fingerprinted when entering the U.S for the past 3years. She goes through the same line as me and the whole process takes 2 seconds. Who cares? Really? If anybody has some kind of hang up about this, maybe you should just live in your bubble and avoid World thravel. It's no big deal if you are entering a country under LEGAL circumstances you have nothing to worry about.

Given the fact that many people give away personal information carelessly on the internet or store their information at web sites of all kinds of companies, it does not make much sense to call fingerprinting and photographing a violation of human rights. It is not a bad thing to visit or re-enter Japan with a valid passport. I think automated gates should be installed at Kansai and Chubu, too, and not just in Narita. After all, Tokyo is not all of Japan and 90 % of the population live outside Tokyo.

So how is immigration control in the US? How much time passes between exiting the plane and passing immigration? There are certainly more foreign tourists and residents in the US than in Japan.

I don't care about being fingerprinted.

What bothers me sometimes is how like today a Japanese celebrity is on TV saying he hopes the fingerprinting cuts crime in Japan. Well most crime in Japan is committed by the Japanese themselves! So I don't see how that helps.

They say its to help prevent terrorism, yet all the terrorists attacks in Japan have been done by the Japanese themselves, not foreigners. Remember 1995 Tokyo Subway? Done by Japanese not foreign nationals.

Again I don't care about being fingerprinted, it certainly does weed out those with fake passports, and visa runners, but I wish they would keep some of the dumb asses shut up about it cutting on foreign crime.

In Japan Immigration officers handles all Immigration, Customs officers don't do Immigration checks, they are two separate agencies that hardly talk to each other.

Technically, fingerprinting should increase the speed a little, since there is almost instant verification if someone says who they say they are, or if a Immigration officer had suspicion that someone was using two passports, or a passport belonging to someone else, or using a totally fake one. Of course there are flaws and things don't work out they way they are designed too.

There will be a registered users line at Narita Airport only (for now), so if you fly into Kansai as a resident you're still screwed a bit.

The "registered" line is an "automatic gate" line, that is still manned by an Immigration Officer. So in terms of speed, it might be because you're only waiting in line with other registered travelers instead of non registered travelers, the process still requires you to scan your passport and your fingerprints, but probably reduces the questioning.

The difference between the USA System and the Japan system that I know of:

1. In the USA permanent residences and spouses can use the US Citizen Line.

With the new system in Japan all foreigners regardless of status (minus those "special cases") have to use the foreigners line, or the registered line at Narita Airport if you are registered.

You can no longer use the Japanese citizens line, even if you are married to a Japanese National. However, a Japanese National can still accompany you through the regular lines for non Japanese or Registered travelers.

So you will not be separated. There was some wild propaganda thrown out by some that said "PEOPLE WILL BE FORCE ABLY SEPARATED FROM THEIR FAMILIES" this is not the case.

2. In the US permanent residences are not fingerprinted each time they come in and again allowed to use the US Citizens lane.

In Japan you are fingerprinted each and every time you come in and you cannot use the Japanese citizens lane.

However, in the US to get a permanent resident card requires you to be fingerprinted.

Japan used to do this but stopped a few years ago.

How is the new immigration system? I've been to Japan twice and before the new system was implemented, but not since. I've already been treated kindly by security and have never really had to stand in any lines for any excessive length of time. Can I expect the same this time? How does it take to get through immigration and security, now?

Immigration typically takes less than 2 minutes at the booth and less then 10-15 min including the wait in line. In fact there is strong evidence to suggest that the new system has made immigration waiting times shorter.

I would not expect that the new system as I know would decrease waiting time. Let's put it this way. My flight will be in at about 4:15 if the bus leaves to my town is supposed to leave at 6:30, can I make? Its normally 10-15 minutes behind schedule but lets assume I have 20 minutes to move through immigration control. Can I make it?

I would not expect that the new system as I know would decrease waiting time.

I wouldn't expect it earlier but it seems to be the case. It's even better if you are a reentry permit holder as there are now dedicated lines that seem to be fastest of all. I've gotten through immigration the last three times in less than 2 min including waiting in line.

My flight will be in at about 4:15 if the bus leaves to my town is supposed to leave at 6:30, can I make? Its normally 10-15 minutes behind schedule but lets assume I have 20 minutes to move through immigration control. Can I make it?

I think that 20 min in this scenario is an underestimation of the time you have available. Lets say your plane gets to the gate at 430. That still gives you two hours to get through immigration (15 min), get your baggage (15 min), go through customs (10 min), get your bus ticket (10 min) and get to the bus (10 min). Looks like you still have about an hour to spare in case the lines are particularly long.