Pass It Onto Your Friends As Well

From Nov. 2007, all foreigners entering Japan will be fingerprinted and photographed upon arrival into the country (when everyone looks and feels their best, no doubt). This is to protect Japan and those in it from evil terrorists.

I was discussing this with Fi the other day (whose recent move to Tokyo will be savoured properly in a separate blog entry, probably written all in CAPITAL LETTERS COS IT'S SO AWESOME THAT ONE OF MY WELLY POSSE IS HERE!!!) and this particular law is one of the most stupid and racist laws I've come across during my time in Japan.

I watched this joke of a video from the Japanese government's video collection and it made me so furious that my stomach hurt.

They constantly refer to "foreign visitors" being fingerprinted which implies that tourists will be fingerprinted, right? Fairy nuff I guess, what the U.S. is doing must also be what Japan should be doing I guess.

However, they also use "foreign visitors" to include those of us who are paying taxes and have already registered as bonafide working types. We ALSO have to get fingerprinted.

I often get the feeling that the Japanese government, probably like most other governments, spends a lot of time and effort encouraging people to visit here and spend lots of money, but not to stay. "We want your money, just not you. Yokoso!".

Fi brought up a particularly "You Will Never Belong Here" point when she said that at airports, kids with one Japanese parent and one foreign parent will probably be wondering why Daddy or Mummy has to line up in another line.

I also can't believe that the government is stupid enough to overlook the fact that the only act(s) of terrorism ever committed on Japanese soil was carried out by Japanese people. Some of who are STILL on the run.

Why are governments so ridiculous?