Five foreigners refused entry on first day of fingerprinting

The Justice Ministry said Wednesday that five foreign nationals had been refused entry to Japan on Tuesday, the first day of the government's policy of taking fingerprints and photographs of foreign nationals aged 16 or older upon their entry at its 27 airports and 126 seaports nationwide.


Ministry officials said the fingerprints of the five were identical to those of five people who had been deported from Japan before. Of the five, three people are believed to have used forged passports, the officials said.

Meanwhile, there were no foreign nationals who faced the refusal of entry because they resisted having their fingerprints and photographs taken, the officials said.

They also said the ministry failed to read fingerprints of a total of 21 foreigners at Obihiro, Narita, Central Japan and Fukuoka airports as well as Hakata seaport through scanners, apparently due to their advanced ages which make their fingerprints unclear.

The 21 were all allowed to enter Japan after undergoing oral immigration examinations under a ministry ordinance and other rules, the officials said.

Many visitors expressed understanding of the measure's necessity for antiterrorism security but were displeased with the long waiting time.

The measure excludes ethnic Koreans and other permanent residents with special status, those under 16, those visiting Japan for diplomatic or official purposes, and those invited by the Japanese government.

However, Choi Sung Shik of the Korean Residents Union in Japan said in a protest rally in front of Tokyo's Justice Ministry building Tuesday that many Korean permanent residents without special status will now be subjected to the measure.

Also joining the rally organized by Amnesty International-Japan and other human rights organizations, Choi Sun Ae, a third-generation Korean resident, also expressed strong concerns about the impact that the measure is likely to have on the Korean community in Japan.
Choi Sun Ae said she once refused to get fingerprinted and was accordingly stripped of her permanent status due to violation of an Alien Registration Law regulation, although she later regained it after the regulation was abolished in April 2000.

"Under the revised immigration law, Korean residents with general permanent statuses would face a similar situation to mine if they reject the fingerprinting," she said.

Also among some 50 protesters was Renate Tamamushi, 68, who has been married to a Japanese man and lived in Japan for 46 years. She voiced opposition to the fingerprinting, saying, "Japan is my second home country and I don't want to be treated like a terrorist."