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[norinrad21]

Wednesday, June 8, 2005 at 07:18 JST
TOKYO — The Japanese government and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party plan to require all foreigners staying in Japan for more than 90 days to carry identification cards equipped with integrated circuit chips, with all data to be kept at an "intelligence center," party lawmakers said Tuesday.

The LDP and the government claim the new policy is aimed at keeping track of foreigners as part of measures to prevent terrorism and crimes.

But the new system, intended to replace the current Certificate of Alien Registration that foreigners have to carry, is likely to raise concerns over the sharing of information between the immigration and police authorities, as well as protests from foreigners that it unfairly discriminates against them.

Under the plan, foreigners will have to carry with them at all times IC cards that contain information such as their name, nationality, address, birth date, passport number, visa status and place of employment or study. Holders will be required to report any change of address and obtain permission to change jobs.

The data of all card holders will be kept at the intelligence center that the Justice Ministry plans to set up to gather and analyze information on suspicious foreigners. The information will be shared between immigration and police authorities when foreigners are involved in crimes.

Currently, foreigners' registrations are kept at the municipality of their residence. The municipal governments, which issue the alien registration cards, are required to send a copy of the registrations to the Justice Ministry.

Under the new policy, companies and schools where foreigners work or study will also be required to report to the authorities about when the foreigners move or change jobs, and will be subject to penalties for any falsified information.

The government is aiming to submit budget requests as early as for next fiscal year, beginning next April, and to have related law revisions as well as new legislation made in two years.

Short-term visitors in Japan for up to 90 days and those with special permanent residency, including Korean residents in Japan, will be exempt.

Japanese nationals are not required to carry any form of identification, but foreigners aged over 16 who fail to carry their alien registration cards with them at all times currently face a maximum penalty of one year in prison or a 200,000 yen fine. The maximum penalty for special permanent residents is 100,000 yen.

The current alien registration card contains the holder's name, nationality, date of birth, place of birth, address, passport information, visa status, occupation and company or school.

Japan's treatment of foreigners has often been criticized as being discriminatory, especially with the fingerprinting system it introduced in 1952. After decades of protests, Japan finally stopped requiring the fingerprinting of permanent foreign residents in 1992 and of those with nonpermanent status in 2000. (Kyodo News)

1984

 

[Smiles and Cries]

Wow I get a new chip in my American Passport and if I go to Japan for 6 months I get more chips

 

[Mugen]

Nah this is nothing big.

 

[tetsuoxb]

I already have a 外国人登録証明書 (Gaikokujin Toroku Shomei Sho) aka Gaijin card...it just doesnt have an IC chip in it. (Japanese included for google search purposes)

However, I am switching jobs in a month and will have to get one of the new ones....blah.

 

[Comfort_Eagle]

Wow I get a new chip in my American Passport and if I go to Japan for 6 months I get more chips

Is Tony the Tiger kicking shit up in that? What a crazy ass mofo.

 

[john tv]

Link?

 

[Jonnyram]

Is this actually passed and coming into effect soon? I have to renew my gaijin card this July - woohoo! I don't think you actually need permission to change jobs though, unless you're doing something like changing from a software engineer to a sex provider.

This is more or less the same as what happens currently, except:
- it has an IC
- all the data is stored in one central location as well as the local ward offices.

It's the second point that's pissing people off, not the first one. We've always had to carry these cards, by law, but now they're putting all this info in one place, which has probably already been hacked once or twice in the past. Trading of personal information is a big problem in Japan, and it sounds like the governemt is being really hypocritical about it in this case.

 

[drohne]

...unless you're doing something like changing from a software engineer to a sex provider.

haha. is this something like changing from a chartered accountant to a lion tamer?