In a bid to counter passport forgery, Japan will start issuing on March 20 a new type of passport that uses an integrated circuit chip containing the holder's facial data, Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Thursday.
The introduction will be in line with a revision of the passport law that goes into effect on the day.
For those who apply for passports after that date, IC passports will be issued. Those who already have passports can still use them until the passports expire, although they may switch to IC passports if they wish, the ministry said.
An IC chip containing the holder's personal data, including name, birth date, nationality and passport number, will be implanted in a plastic page of the passport that reading devices can touch to confirm the installed data.
IC passports have been studied in developed countries as part of stepped-up counterterrorism measures after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.
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