Annex 3.
Input for Mr. Diene
Governmental measures toward foreigners
(Information from Akira Hatate, Japan Civil Liberties Union,
as of December 2006)
- US Visit, the Japanese version
Japan is the second country in the world to adopt a system collecting biometric data such as fingerprints and photographs of the face from almost every foreigner entering the country. This system will be implemented by Autumn 2007. It is supposed to be a measure against terrorism, but there is no evidence that any terrorist has been caught by this system in the US, and its effectiveness as an anti-terror measure has not been affirmed. Additionally, this is a system that will forcibly collect extremely personal information (biometric information) from foreigners and keep it for 70-80 years. This system demonstrates a complete loss of reason and balance when it comes to considering means vs. ends. It also prompts discrimination and prejudice against foreigners by considering all foreigners as terrorists.
- Terrorist recognition system
The terrorist recognition system has already been implemented at the immigration authorities in Japan. The Japanese government refuses to provide information whether an individual has been identified as a terrorist or not. The criteria on recognizing terrorists are extremely vague, and the system cannot avoid arbitrary application by the government. Moreover, the minister of justice, who is authorized to recognize terrorists, has no authority to conduct investigation concerning terrorism, and makes decisions according to information provided by relevant ministries and agencies. This is an extremely distorted recognition system, and lacks credibility. Consequently, misrecognition owing to discrimination and prejudice against people from certain countries would be inevitable.
- Distribution of biometric information
The biometric data that the government will obtain through the newly amended immigration law (US-VISIT, Japanese version; automatic gate system) will be provided to governmental institutions other than the immigration authorities upon inquiry, after review. Moreover, it will also respond to inquiries from foreign governments, leading to a situation where extremely personal information (biometric data) is very easily distributed. This is clearly an infringement of privacy.
Annex 1: Law for Partial Amendment of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan)
Related Articles and appeals
Reuters: Japan to take fingerprints, photos of foreigners
Fri Oct 26, 2007
Reuters: Japan fingerprints foreigners as anti-terror move
Tue Nov 20, 2007
Appeal by Amnesty International Japan and Solidality network of Migrants
Japan
Appeal by Japanese bar association
Joint research on history
The Japan-Korea joint research on history, which the delegate of Japan mentioned in the General Assembly, was started in 2002 after Korea’s protests against descriptions in Japanese textbooks, particularly those published in Japan by a publisher called Fusosha.
The Japanese Government, as an assumption of the research, contrary to the Korean Government’s claim, consistently maintains that the Japanese history textbooks cannot and will not reflect any outcomes of the research, because of its textbook screening system. Therefore, some NGOs express concern that the research has strayed from its initial goal to solve the textbook problem.
There is a concern that even the newly planned joint research might not play a sufficient role to solve problems concerning history and history textbooks, if the Japanese government maintains its point of view that they cannot make school textbooks reflect the joint researches.
Annex 1: THE JAPAN-KOREA CITIZENS GROUP JOINT VIEW ON THE “JAPAN-KOREA JOINT HISTORICAL RESEARCH ORGANISATION”
Movements within Japan
Further racist remarks by the Tokyo Governor, Shintaro Ishihara
On 30th August 2006, Shintaro Ishihara, the Governor of Tokyo, referred to Dr. Kang Sang-Jung, a second-generation Korean, saying “That’s a suspicious foreigner. What an impudent fellow he is,” in response to Dr. Kang’s speech supporting Fukuoka prefecture’s bid for the Olympics (cf. Asahi news, 31st August).
On 15th September, at a symposium co-sponsored by the National Police Agency, the Defense Agency, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, and the Coast Guard, he made a remark that “there are no proper measures to deal with Sangokujin {subjects of the former Japanese empire}, particularly the Chinese, who enter Japan illegally” (cf. Asahi news, 16th September).
After using the term sankokujin in 2000, governor Ishihara announced that he “would not, from now on, use inappropriate terms that lead to misunderstanding,” and on 19th April of that year, presented a document saying that “it was never his intent to offend the general foreign population in Japan, and that he regretted his statement.”
Governmental measures toward foreigners
US Visit, the Japanese version
Japan is the second country in the world to adopt a system collecting biometric data such as fingerprints and photographs of the face from almost every foreigner entering the country. This system will be implemented by Autumn 2007. It is supposed to be a measure against terrorism, but there is no evidence that any terrorist has been caught by this system in the US, and its effectiveness as an anti-terror measure has not been affirmed. Additionally, this is a system that will forcibly collect extremely personal information (biometric information) from foreigners and keep it for 70-80 years. This system demonstrates a complete loss of reason and balance when it comes to considering means vs. ends. It also prompts discrimination and prejudice against foreigners by considering all foreigners as terrorists.
Terrorist recognition system
The terrorist recognition system has already been implemented at the immigration authorities in Japan. The Japanese government refuses to provide information whether an individual has been identified as a terrorist or not. The criteria on recognizing terrorists are extremely vague, and the system cannot avoid arbitrary application by the government. Moreover, the minister of justice, who is authorized to recognize terrorists, has no authority to conduct investigation concerning terrorism, and makes decisions according to information provided by relevant ministries and agencies. This is an extremely distorted recognition system, and lacks credibility. Consequently, misrecognition owing to discrimination and prejudice against people from certain countries would be inevitable.
3. Distribution of biometric information
The biometric data that the government will obtain through the newly amended immigration law (US-VISIT, Japanese version; automatic gate system) will be provided to governmental institutions other than the immigration authorities upon inquiry, after review. Moreover, it will also respond to inquiries from foreign governments, leading to a situation where extremely personal information (biometric data) is very easily distributed. This is clearly an infringement on privacy.
Movement of NGOs
NGO network for Elimination of Racial Discrimination
NGOs in Japan have created a network aiming to eliminate all forms of racism and discrimination in Japan, currently consisting of 77 NGOs, belonging to or working for minorities in Japan. The network calls for implementation of the recommendations given in the country report of Mr. Doudou Diene, the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (E/CN.4/2006/16/Add.2), and also works for the implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination, for which Japan is now preparing a report as a signatory state.
The network is currently preparing a comment on the document submitted by Japan on Mr. Diene’s report (A/HRC/1/G/3), expressing concern about the reluctant attitude of the Japanese Government towards the report, and its insufficient understanding of the nature of racism and discrimination in its own nation.
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