immigaration control in japan
New tool eyed to find foreigners staying illegally
04/07/2006
The Asahi Shimbun
In another controversial plan, the Justice Ministry will use electronic maps to locate foreigners believed to be staying here illegally, as well as businesses that have hired illegal workers, sources said.
The system is expected to start in fiscal 2007. Immigration personnel will carry hand-held
terminals showing such maps to speed up the process of taking suspected illegal foreigners into custody, they said.
Criticism had already been lodged against the plan, much like the Justice Ministry's system
set up in 2004 of having the public send e-mail information about foreigners who seem to
be living in the country illegally. The Japan Federation of Bar Associations has criticized
the e-mail tip-off system for encouraging citizens to betray their neighbors.
Critics say the ministry's map plan will unfairly treat overstayers as hard-core criminals.
"It's wrong to treat overstaying foreigners as if they constitute a hotbed for serious
crimes," Manami Yano, a member of the Solidarity Network with Migrants Japan, said.
But the ministry is determined to reach the government's goal of halving the number of
illegal foreigners by the end of 2008 from the estimated 250,000 who overstayed their
visas or entered Japan illegally in 2003.
An estimated 193,000 foreigners were living in Japan illegally in January this year.
The ministry receives about 16,000 pieces of information annually via e-mail, letters and
telephone calls about suspicious foreigners, ministry officials said.
In addition, about 19,000 foreigners around the nation in 2004 registered their names and addresses with city, town and village offices, although they did not have proper visas.
Ministry officials said many register because registry as a foreigner is needed as a form of ID to open bank accounts or buy cellphones.
Such information is available in writing, but it has been difficult to piece that data together with the information given by informants in different municipalities, even if all the information concerns the same individual.
Ministry officials said the electronic maps will combine all the information and plot the likely whereabouts of the suspicious foreigners.
But human rights groups and those who help non-Japanese say foreigners without the proper visa status often register to allow their children to attend public schools.
Yano also noted that it is rare for foreigners without proper visas to get involved in serious crimes in Japan.(IHT/Asahi: April 7,2006)
ENDS
04/07/2006
The Asahi Shimbun
In another controversial plan, the Justice Ministry will use electronic maps to locate foreigners believed to be staying here illegally, as well as businesses that have hired illegal workers, sources said.
The system is expected to start in fiscal 2007. Immigration personnel will carry hand-held
terminals showing such maps to speed up the process of taking suspected illegal foreigners into custody, they said.
Criticism had already been lodged against the plan, much like the Justice Ministry's system
set up in 2004 of having the public send e-mail information about foreigners who seem to
be living in the country illegally. The Japan Federation of Bar Associations has criticized
the e-mail tip-off system for encouraging citizens to betray their neighbors.
Critics say the ministry's map plan will unfairly treat overstayers as hard-core criminals.
"It's wrong to treat overstaying foreigners as if they constitute a hotbed for serious
crimes," Manami Yano, a member of the Solidarity Network with Migrants Japan, said.
But the ministry is determined to reach the government's goal of halving the number of
illegal foreigners by the end of 2008 from the estimated 250,000 who overstayed their
visas or entered Japan illegally in 2003.
An estimated 193,000 foreigners were living in Japan illegally in January this year.
The ministry receives about 16,000 pieces of information annually via e-mail, letters and
telephone calls about suspicious foreigners, ministry officials said.
In addition, about 19,000 foreigners around the nation in 2004 registered their names and addresses with city, town and village offices, although they did not have proper visas.
Ministry officials said many register because registry as a foreigner is needed as a form of ID to open bank accounts or buy cellphones.
Such information is available in writing, but it has been difficult to piece that data together with the information given by informants in different municipalities, even if all the information concerns the same individual.
Ministry officials said the electronic maps will combine all the information and plot the likely whereabouts of the suspicious foreigners.
But human rights groups and those who help non-Japanese say foreigners without the proper visa status often register to allow their children to attend public schools.
Yano also noted that it is rare for foreigners without proper visas to get involved in serious crimes in Japan.(IHT/Asahi: April 7,2006)
ENDS