Kobe Regatta Club Prez Dr Sadhwani on NJ Fingerprinting debacle

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

The local authorities even contradict their own laws and resolutions by not installing proper equipment in all the airports and therefore it will take you hours before you can exit the terminal due to the long queues you will have to face. Narita airport being the exception. In a country that has had the Alien Registration system in place for years, a system that was already regarded as being insulting, why would the authorities need to verify information they already have?

“YOKOSO JAPAN” parody poster, T-shirts and video

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

Courtesy Larry Fordyce Courtesy Nick Wood TEE SHIRTS ========================== Hi all, There have been several posts on various sites asking for a t-shirt designed to wear through Japan immigration & customs control to protest the recent policy of biometric I.D. for foreign nationals. I am pleased to say that we have come up with such …

Sankei Shinbun on Fingerprinting equipment SNAFUs

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

Hi Blog. Here’s a funny article. In high school psychology class, we learned about a mental process called “projection”, where a batter blames the bat instead of himself for the strike-out. Well, Immigration today was a paragon of projection. Maybe the system is just no damn good from the start. Or maybe it’s just plain …

産經新聞：新入国審査システム初日　トラブル続出

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

新入国審査システム初日　トラブル続出 2007.11.20 12:51 このニュースのトピックス：事件・トラブル http://sankei.jp.msn.com/life/lifestyle/071120/sty0711201251002-n1.htm  フォート：入国時に「生体情報」を採取するシステムが導入され、端末機の説明を受ける外国人＝２０日午前、関西空港 　外国人の入国審査で導入された新システムで２０日、指紋読み取りの失敗など装置の不調が各地で相次いだ。 　博多港では約３０人の指紋読み取りでエラーが発生し、やり直しの末、４人は記録を断念。入国審査官の判断で入国を許可した。入管担当者は「長く農作業に従事していた高齢者が多く、すり減ってしまったようだ」と話し、装置に問題はないとしている。 　成田空港では、オーストラリア国籍の男性（４２）の指紋が認識できず、１時間以上かかった。東京入管成田空港支局によると、指先の乾燥などで十分認識できないケースがあるという。北海道の新千歳空港でも読み取りに何度も失敗するケースがあり、肌の乾燥が関係するとみられるという。 　富山県の伏木富山港では、持ち運び型の装置５台のうち３台で、使用開始直後に接続の不具合が発生。再起動して復旧した後、１台は約３０分後に再び不具合が生じ、使用を中止した。

Yomiuri Editorial justifying NJ Fingerprinting as anti-crime measure

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

Hoo-hah. Here’s the best argument yet for fingerprinting almost all foreign visitors, er, all foreigners, yet–all put together nicely for one-stop shopping. November 19, 2007 editorial in the Yomiuri–with its fundamental association of extranationality with criminality and insecurity. Note how anti-crime has been Trojan-Horsed into the arguments for anti-terrorism now. Thanks Yomiuri, wouldn’t have expected …

Immig Fingerprinting NJ from today, media coverage (or lack of), GOJ data security breaches

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

It’s FP Day. Some fascinating media coverage (or rather, lack thereof) of the controversy; instead, a friend sends word about the lack of security for data in the Japanese Government’s hands. And they want to be entrusted with biometric data? Incompetence metastasizes.

DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 19, 2007

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

1) JAPAN TIMES: WORKPLACE GAIJIN CARD CHECKS, WALLET-SIZED LAWS
2) FINGERPRINTING UPDATE:
OFFICIAL INSTRUCTIONS FROM NARITA AIRPORT
KOBE REGATTA & ATHLETIC WANTS IN ON FP PROTEST
ACCJ OFFERS THEIR VIEW OF LOBBYING FOR “CONCESSIONS”
MORE PROTESTS: T-SHIRTS AT JALT, “WANTED” POSTERS
FORMER GIANTS PITCHER YAMAMOTO PROFITEERS, GETS FP FOR MONEY
OFFER YOUR FP EXPERIENCES AT IMMIG AFTER NOV 20 AT DEBITO.ORG

3) ECONOMIST: YOMIURI OWNER WATANABE INTERFERES WITH POLITICS, AS USUAL
4) OSAKA REALTOR HAS CATALOG WITH “GAIJIN OK” [sic!] APARTMENTS; WHAT TO DO
5) CRIES DU COEUR FROM INTL RESIDENTS RE POLICE GAIJIN CARD SHAKEDOWNS
6) UN REP DOUDOU DIENE WARNS RACISM INCREASINGLY VIOLENT WORLDWIDE
7) SPEECHES ON JOB SEARCHES, NOVA COLLAPSE AT JALT TOKYO THIS WEEKEND
8) VALENTINE CASE NEXT COURT HEARING TUES NOV 20 11AM
(SAME PLACE AS AMNESTY MOJ FP PROTEST AT NOON–SO DO BOTH!)

…and finally…
9) “NO BORDERS” MEETING NOV 18: KOKUSAIKA AND KEIDANREN LAID BARE

“NO BORDER” Nov 18 Meeting: Kokusaika & Keidanren laid bare

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

Report on Nov 18 2007 meeting with NO BORDER, a group which wishes to promote greater integration of NJ within Japan: A lovely glimpse into Japan’s multicultural future as Japanized NJ children of immigrants reach college age. And an even more informative glimpse into the darkness behind Keidanren’s deliberate visa policies for getting cheap labor with all the trimmings–no labor law protection, and no social safety net. Special non-guest: Tony Laszlo

UN Rapporteur Doudou Diene warns “racism is increasingly manifest as violence”

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

Hi Blog. Giving a speech in a few hours, so I’ll be brief. Here’s a recent report from Doudou Diene, who has been so assiduous in reporting on Japan’s human rights violations to the UN.. Not about Japan in specific, but still worth a read. Debito in Tokyo. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////// From: UNNews@un.org Subject: UN EXPERT WARNS …

Two Cries du Coeur from ethnic residents of Japan being shaken down by the Japanese police

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

Hi Blog. Two Cries du Coeur from ethnic residents of Japan being shaken down by the Japanese police–one by Zero, a Issei Japanese-Filipino, the other by Ali Rustom, and Englishman of Egyptian descent. Racial profiling and the lingering anger it creates towards the authorities… Arudou Debito in Tokyo =============================== An Isseijin’s Outcry By Reijiro “Zero” …

Economist on J Media (particularly political collusion between LDP, DPJ, and Yomiuri Shinbun!)

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

Finally, we are getting the articles coming out that should have done so long ago–and would have been done if reporters were either competent or not complicit in the media machine. What follows is an excellent article in The Economist (London) on that very media machine in Japan, and how it meddles with the political process here. (Pity it’s only confined to the web–the weekly article from Japan in the print version was a different one about Ozawa only.)

Let’s hope The Economist or someoone else someday does an entire survey on the situation. This kind of corruption runs very, very deep in Japan, and will ultimately keep our country on its future path to economic obscurity (and an untoward degree of xenophobic isolation) unless something drastically changes in the power structure. Exposing it to the light of the media spotlight is one way.

Letter to Dr Deepu Sadhwani, President, Kobe Regatta & Athletic Club, re protesting NJ Fingerprint policy

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

A letter I sent out tonight in response to Dr Deepu Sadhwani, President, Kobe Regatta & Athletic Club, who introduced himself today, and asked what he and his members (long-term residents of the Kansai) could do to protest the NJ Fingerprinting policy. Feel free to forward it around to others that need convincing of the the whats, whys, and hows.

Japan Times on Gaijin Carding in workplace, and downloadable wallet-size Gaijin Card laws from Erich Meatleg

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

Excerpt from Japan Times article re how laws have changed to enable all employers to run Gaijin Card Checks on their foreign staff, just like any cop on the corner. Except that the laws are a little more sophisticated than that–download wallet-sized color-coded versions of them for the next time you’re racially profiled.

Official instructions on Narita automated gate for NJ fingerprinting

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

[For Foreigners]
(Reference Material for the PR Dept.)

Operation of the Automated Gate

Ministry of Justice, Immigration Bureau

1. Introduction
Automated gates will be placed at Narita Airport from November 20th, 2007, in order to improve convenience of immigration procedures by simplifying and accelerating them. We would like to ask foreigners who wish to use the automated gates to provide their personal identification information (fingerprints and a facial portrait) in advance and register themselves as applicants in order to use the gate.

2. Registration as an Applicant to Use the Automated Gate…
Operation of the Automated Gate

Ministry of Justice, Immigration Bureau

Former Giants pitcher tarento promotes Narita Fingerprinting NJ system as “Anti-Crime” measure

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

TV celebrity Kazutomo Miyamoto urged immigration officials during a photo-op to use a new process to fingerprint inbound foreigners to fight foreign crime, not terrorism as the government claims the system will be used for.

“I think it’d be best if we could cut the amount of crime foreigners are committing and make Japan a safer place,” Miyamoto said at Narita Airport, where he was serving as the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau Chief For a Day as a promotional event for the fingerprinting process.

毎日：タレント宮本和知は東京入管成田支局で指紋採取について、「外国人犯罪が減り、日本が安全になればベストだと思う」

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

毎日：東京入国管理局成田空港支局は１３日、タレントの宮本和知さん（４３）を「一日入国管理局長」に招き、指紋などの個人識別情報を活用した新しい入国審査手続きを公開した。宮本さんは入国審査場で指紋採取などの手続きを体験。「外国人犯罪が減り、日本が安全になればベストだと思う」と話した。

Japan Times on NJ Housing Discrimination, and how people are trying to help

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

Hi Blog. Pursuant to my post this morning on how an Osaka realtor has clear “foreigners OK” labels in its apartment catalog (meaning default mode is refusing them), here is an article in the Japan Times with some more evidence on just how systematic discrimination by nationality is in the housing market. Unfortunately, this is …

Rogues’ Gallery: Kansai Kensetsu Inc., a “No Foreigners” realtor in Osaka–according to its catalog

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

Information from a realtor in Osaka called Kansai Kensetsu, which has a clear system (even a snappy logo) in their housing catalog for refusing “gaijin” renters. Don’t encourage this practice. Take your business elsewhere. Entered onto the Rogues’ Gallery of Exclusionary Establishments.

Valentine Lawsuit: Next Hearing Nov 20 11AM Tokyo High Court, join his support group.

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

Hi Blog. Nov 20 promises to be a busy day. If you’re not attending the Amnesty/SMJ Protest against Fingerprinting, then consider attending this event–in fact you can probably squeeze both of them in, since they’re both in Kasumigaseki. About a person allegedly brutalized by the police, but undoubtedly denied medical treatment while incarcerated, and crippled …

バレンタインさんの警察官による外国人への暴力事件：【裁判傍聴に　ご参加をお願いします！】 平成１９年１１月２０日(火)１１時　開廷

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

ナイジェリア国籍のバレンタインさんは、新宿歌舞伎町で私服 警察官に不法な暴力を振るわれ障害者となりました。東京都を 相手取り裁判を起こしましたが、一審敗訴。東京都は暴力の事 実を認めず、バレンタインさんが勝手に看板に足をぶつけて怪 我をしたと虚偽の主張。証拠となる防犯カメラが現場にありま したが、都は防犯カメラを撤去し最初からなかったと主張しま した。初診のカルテも東京警察病院が「受診カルテを紛失した 」として裁判所命令にもかかわらず提出を拒否しています。一 審判決は原告側証人を「外国人だから信用できない」としまし た。原告は強大な公権力に翻弄され窮地に追い込まれています 。

Fingerprinting Protest: Lionel Dersot on making your own “WANTED” poster

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

Interesting idea: “Hello, I am Lionel Dersot, a French resident of 22 years in Tokyo. Following a post on my French blog about alternative, vital ways to express discontent with the biometric filling of foreigners reaching Japan from November 20, I have created a Flickr public photo gallery where I will host any Wanted Poster candidate picture of people wishing to tell others that ” I am not a terrorist”.”

DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 12, 2007

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

1) NEW JAPAN TIMES ARTICLE TUES NOV 13 ON NEW WORKPLACE GAIJIN CARDING

2) NJ FINGERPRINTING UPDATE:
A) PROTEST WORKS: NARITA INSTITUTES NEW SEPARATE LINES FOR RESIDENTS
B) RECENT MEDIA: FP “AN UNMITIGATED PR DISASTER FOR THE GOJ”, “INEFFECTIVE”
C) CUTE ANIMATION RE FINGERPRINTING: DOWNLOAD AND SPREAD AROUND
D) TUES NOV 20, NOON, ASSEMBLE AND PROTEST AT JUSTICE MINISTRY

3) JAPAN TIMES: US GOVT FORCED PM ABE TO BACK DOWN RE COMFORT WOMEN
4) LA TIMES: HOW J POLICE IGNORE CERTAIN CRIMES. LIKE MURDER.
5) IHT/ASAHI, METROPOLIS, NUGW ON EIKAIWA NOVA BANKRUPTCY AFTERMATH
6) NOV 17 FED OF BAR ASSOC (NICHIBENREN) MEETING RE DIVORCE AND JOINT CUSTODY

…and finally…
7) UPCOMING SPEECH TOKYO NOV 18, “NO BORDER” GROUP ANNUAL MEETING

LA Times and Terrie’s Take on NJ Fingerprinting: “an unmitigated public relations disaster for the GOJ”

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

The fingerprinting issue just keeps on rolling. LA Times article says everything we’ve been saying, only to a big US Pacific Coast audience with close ties to Japan; Terrie’s Take, with an even more timely article this morning, calls this policy an “unmitigated public relations disaster for the Japanese government… the measures have in fact proven to be disjointed, unorganized, and ultimately unworkable. They have also managed to infuriate pretty much every long-term, tax-paying, foreign resident in Japan.”

Fingerprinting of NJ issue summarized as animation. Spread it around.

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

Hi Blog. Fingerprinting of NJ issue aptly summarized in animation. Spread it around. Download it from here and use as you like: https://www.debito.org/WelcometoJapan.gif Courtesy of UTU’s Nick Wood. Thanks very much, and well done. Arudou Debito in Sapporo

Nova Union on former NOVA employees exodus to G Education

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

Louis Carlet: NOVA Union has news on employment conditions being offered former NOVA employees by G Education, a company, and the union’s attempt to avoid the same abuses (such as lack of shakai hoken or open-ended employment) by demanding NOVA employment conditions do not continue. Watch the Fuji TV news at 10pm tonight (Sun Nov 11), which covers the Nova Union’s trip to Osaka to meet with the trustee.

LA Times on how J police ignore certain crimes. Like murder.

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

LA Times: “As is common in Japan, Aichi police reached their verdict on how [brutalized sumo wrestler] Saito died without an autopsy. No need for a coroner, they said. No crime involved. Only 6.3% of the unnatural deaths in Aichi are investigated by a medical examiner, a minuscule rate even by nationwide standards in Japan, where an autopsy is performed in 11.2% of cases… But Saito’s case has given credence to complaints by a group of frustrated doctors, former pathologists and ex-cops who argue that Japan’s police culture is the main obstacle. Police discourage autopsies that might reveal a higher homicide rate in their jurisdiction, and pressure doctors to attribute unnatural deaths to health reasons, usually heart failure, the group alleges. Odds are, it says, that people are getting away with murder in Japan, a country that officially claims one of the lowest per capita homicide rates in the world… “All the police care about is how they look to people; it’s all PR to show that their capabilities are high,” Saikawa says. “Without autopsies they can keep their percentage [of solved cases] high. It’s all about numbers.””

IHT/Asahi and Metropolis: Two good articles on NOVA bankruptcy aftermath

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

TwIHT/Asahi: “Some former Nova teachers are in such dire financial straits they are having to rely on their former students to feed them.” Metropolis: “In a sense, [former NOVA President Sa[ru]hashi has been playing into the hands of bankruptcy administrators who seek to pin the blame for Nova’s woes on him alone. His selfishness, petulance, disdain for employees and customers, and lack of business acumen make him an exceedingly worthy scapegoat. As this article was going to print, Sahashi remained incommunicado, and the bankruptcy administrators seem to be hoping that the worse he looks, the more the firm will appear as an innocent victim of his tyranny.”

Japan Times: Fingerprinting NJ won’t stop terrorists, critics say

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

Japan Times: Despite government claims it is necessary to counter terrorism, a new immigration procedure obliging most foreigners to be fingerprinted and photographed upon entry to Japan has come under fire as an unwarranted invasion of privacy. More to the point, experts doubt whether it will even stop potential terrorists from entering the country. Nevertheless, Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama has said Japan will cooperate with U.S. authorities in exchanging immigration data. ACLU’s Barry Steinhardt: “Whether or not the loss of liberty is worth the security gained is not a question — because no security is gained.”

Fingerprinting: Amnesty/SMJ Appeal for Noon Nov 20 Public Appeal outside Justice Ministry

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

Amnesty International and Solidarity with Migrants Japan (SMJ) will be holding a public action outside the Justice Ministry at Noon Nov 20, in protest of the NJ fingerprinting and biometric data collection taking effect that day. Drop by and protest. It’ll only take an hour out of your day… This blog entry contains the text of their public appeal in English.

アムネスティ／移住連アピール：　「日本版ＵＳ−ＶＩＳＩＴ」施行に抗議する！　１１．２０昼、法務省前に集まろう！

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

　私たちは、さまざまな問題を孕みながら国会での審議も不十分なまま成立してしまった「日本 版ＵＳ−ＶＩＳＩＴ」の施行を即時中止するよう政府・法務省に強く求めるとともに、施行開始の当 日、１１月２０日に、以下の通り法務省前での抗議行動を行います。平日の昼ですが、ぜひ多く の皆さんが参加されますよう呼びかけます。

Japan Times on Immigration’s fingerprinting of NJ outside of Narita

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

“…Registration for the automated gate system is optional. Those who choose to do so must provide their passport information and have their fingerprints scanned and photographs taken. This has to be done first at select locations in and around Tokyo, including the immigration office at Narita airport. Once registered, participants will go through the immigration line by having their passport electronically scanned and fingerprints confirmed. They may still face questioning by immigration officials before being allowed to officially enter Japan. However, officials say people who are registered are likely to get through immigration quicker than those who aren’t. While all of Japan’s international airports and ports will have the new equipment to take fingerprints and photos, Narita will be the only entry point where people will be able to register with the automatic gate system. There are no plans anytime soon to introduce it elsewhere…”

NO BORDER Speech Sun Nov 18 2007 Tokyo Hosei Univ Ichigaya Campus

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

Hi Blog. I’ll be speaking in Tokyo in two Sundays. Details as follows. Arudou Debito in Sapporo ====================================== No Border 2007 ＜ともに生きる社会をめざして＞　 連絡先/More Information at http://zainichi.net/ Living Together in One Society 在日外国人ボランティア・ネットワーク主催円卓会議 Round Table Discussion Hosted by the Volunteer Network of Foreign Residents in Japan 主旨：昨年に引き続き、個人を主体としたボランタリーなネットワークづくりを目指した円卓会議（ラウンドテーブル）を開催します。議論を通じて、在日外国人および異なる文化をもつ日本国籍の人々について考えて行きたいと思います。 Objective: Following last year’s event, a round table discussion …

Protest pays off: Now separate lines for residents when fingerprinting NJ at Narita

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

Well, well, well. Look what cyberspace just sent me… “On the way out of the country, I picked up an Immigration form. There WILL be a special booth for re-entry visa holders. But there WON’T be a card and we WILL have to be fingerprinted and photographed EVERY time we re-enter the country.” COMMENT: You …

Fingerprinting: Tokyo Demo Amnesty/SMJ Nov 20, Signature Campaign by Privacy International

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

Quoting: “I am toshi, a co-president of People’s Plan Study Group (PPSG). As you know Japanese government will implement new immigration control system of finger printing and face scanning. We have two actions against the plan. One is an international signature organized by Privacy International. Another one is a demonstration in front of DOJ office at noon on Nov 20 organized by Amnesty International Japan and Solidarity Network with Migrants Japan (SMJ)…”

DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 5, 2007

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

1) DOCUMENTARY FILM ON CHILD ABDUCTION: TOKYO DEC 11 FUND RAISER
2) NJ FINGERPRINTING POLICY FOLLOW-UP:
a) EUROPEAN AND ANTIPODEAN BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS LODGE PROTESTS
b) US MILITARY SOFA EXCEPTED FROM FP LAWS
c) PROBABLE USG INVOLVEMENT IN FP POLICY INCEPTION
d) DIET DEBATES ON ANTI-TERROR POLICY NOT OVER YET
e) MOJ MINISTER HATOYAMA JUSTIFIES FP POLICY THRU HIS OWN AL-QAEDA LINKS

3) THE DRAGNET TIGHTENS: USG: PROVE NO CRIMINAL RECORD OVERSEAS FOR GOJ LONG-TERM VISAS
4) JAPAN FOCUS: “JAPAN’S MULTICULTURAL FUTURE OF MIGRANTS BECOMING IMMIGRANTS”
5) JAPAN TIMES: “JAPAN’S UNSCIENTIFIC HUMAN RIGHTS SURVEY”

…and finally…
6) WE ARE BEING LISTENED TO: ARTICLES ON SUMO AND EXCLUSIONARY SPORTS LEAGUES

Probable USG gaiatsu re GOJ fingerprint laws: Quote from Department of Homeland Security website

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

Here’s an excerpt from a Department of Homeland Security website, regarding how the USG has probably encouraged the GOJ to create the damned NJ fingerprinting program: “As the United States’ systems and data improve, State and DHS must make these initiatives global. We will continue diplomatic efforts for the comprehensive exchange of watchlists, biometrics, and lost and stolen passport information with other governments as well as building capacity to effectively use this information.”

欧州ビジネス協会など：外国人指紋採取に対する抗議文

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

ブログ読者の皆様こんばんは。有道　出人です。いつもお世話になっております。ホットニュースですが、欧州ビジネス協会(EBC)と豪州NZ商工会議所(ANZCCJ)は外国人指紋採取に対する抗議文を発行しました。法務省入国管理局と外務省宛で、原文より： ==================== 「日本で税金を納まっている長期在留者を、不定期の訪問者と唐突にひとまとめにすることは、頻繁な商用旅行者にとって過剰な遅れを生み、経営者の効果的で迅速な移動性に大きく依存している企業に受け入れがたいコストを課すおそれがあれます。」など。 ==================== （全文はコメントの下です） コメント：標的としれている在住外国人住民のみではなく、米国以外の欧米人は既にこの政策に深く疑問を持つようであります。日本当局（特に法務省）は日本がグローバル化に対して例外的な国だと未だに思い込んでいるのでしょうか。「ようこそジャパン」と貿易に関する商売にどんな影響を与えるのかを深く考えこなしましたか。どうぞ報道して下さい。宜しくお願い致します。有道　出人 イメージをクリックして下さい:

European Business Council and Australian/ NZ Chamber of Commerce protest NJ fingerprinting laws

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

European Business Council and Aus/NZ Chamber of Commerce in Japan: “We believe that the introduction of mandatory fingerprinting and photographing of foreigners entering and re-entering japan must be conducted in such a way that it does not adversely affect foreign residents, businessmen and companies in japan.” Jakob Edberg, Policy Director of the EBC: “After long discussions with the Ministry of Justice, it is now clear that re-entry permit holders will be able to pre-register fingerprints and photo at either Shinagawa or at Narita on the way out. Undergoing this procedure once should grant swift re-entry at Narita (not other international airports) as long as the passport/ re-entry permit is valid.”

Documentary film on parental child abduction in Japan: Fundraiser Tues Dec 11 in Tokyo

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

Fundraiser for documentary film “For Taka and Mana”, on child abductions to Japan after divorce, taking place Tuesday evening December 11 in Tokyo. Link to film trailer included. Please consider attending and helping out in any way you can. I’ll be there.