Immigration law
Michael asks how the new immigration law for foreign arrivals will affect those with re-entry visas. "Can we still use the Japanese national line, or will we have to go to the foreigners line? Japanese nationals are not being photographed or fingerprinted."
Stricter checks at immigration, including the compulsory photographing and fingerprinting of foreigners on arrival, were laid down in a revised immigration bill the Justice Ministry earlier on the year, but have not as yet been made law.
The revised law, which would allow Japan to deport any arriving foreigner it considers to be a terrorist, follows on from the introduction of fingerprinting and photographs at U.S. immigration checkpoints in 2004. Details are still being thrashed out, as the whole matter is extremely controversial.