Asahi: Fingerprints provide passport out of long queues
The Justice Ministry is set to allow passengers on international flights out of Japan to do little more than scan their fingerprints, according to officials. Passengers who first register their fingerprints on integrated circuit (IC) cards would be able to skip passport examination procedures, and instead swipe their IC cards at an unmanned gate. The system now being developed could be introduced as early as fiscal 2006...The proposed system, is, however, likely to draw criticism here, mostly from people concerned about safeguarding sensitive personal information. Indeed, ministry officials have yet to figure out how to handle the collected information...In December, Tokyo vowed to tighten the Immigration Control Law by ensuring that all foreign nationals entering the country are fingerprinted and photographed. The government is aiming at revising a law to allow for this by the end of 2006.