The Japanese Government yesterday endorsed legislation requiring foreigners to be photographed and fingerprinted on arrival as part of measures to prevent terrorism.

The cabinet approved a revised immigration bill, defying opposition from a lawyers' group and human rights activists who argue that such steps would risk breaching human rights and invading privacy.
 
The bill, due to be submitted to parliament soon, exempts children under 16, diplomats and "special permanent residents" including ethnic Koreans.

The revised law would allow Japan to deport any arriving foreigner it considers to be a terrorist.
 
It also would require planes and ships arriving in Japan to submit lists of passengers before arrival.

Japan's Federation of Bar Associations says the plans should be scrapped because fingerprinting foreigners violates a constitutional requirement to treat people with respect.

The use of biometrics - identifying individuals through techniques such as retinal scanning, face recognition and fingerprinting - raises questions about privacy and control of personal information, the lawyers' group say.

"There may be a problem (with human rights), I think. But domestic policies to reduce illegal immigrants and anti-terrorism measures are more important," Justice Minister Seiken Sugiura told reporters after the cabinet approval of the new bill.

"I believe the bill will secure understanding from the Diet (parliament) and the public."

A police report in December said Japan was at risk of attack because of its close links with the United States.

Fingerprinting and photographs were introduced at US immigration checkpoints in 2004.

But the issue is a particularly sensitive one in Japan, where local governments were long required to fingerprint all resident foreigners, including "special permanent residents" of Korean and Chinese descent.

Many of these residents are descendants of those brought to Japan as forced labor before and during World War II. Local government fingerprinting was halted in 2000.

(China Daily March 8, 2006)